


Truth, Lies, and Fate

by frozenbakedcookies



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 32,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenbakedcookies/pseuds/frozenbakedcookies
Summary: Warning: Some v3 spoilers. The Ultimates of v3 suddenly find themselves in an abandoned campus to participate in a killing game. Why? Isn't Junko Enoshima's AI dead? Set in an alternate universe where everyone was actual students of Hope's Peak Academy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! While this isn't my first fanfic, this is definitely a much different feel considering the genre. br /I'm a HUGE fan of the Danganronpa franchise. I played 1, 2, the spinoff Ultra Despair Girls and I've watched the third anime. I was excited when I found out there will be a third game in the series called Danganronpa v3 Killing Harmony so of course I played it. Unfortunately, it disappointed me. Greatly. It was to the point where I could't even finish the last chapter on my own and had to watch a playthrough. Yeah, I was that disappointed. After reading a good fanfiction based off the game, I was inspired to create my own. For those of you who played, my story will take place in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. So don't expect the same plot twist, deaths, or story as the original. If you like the original game and was satisfied with it, that's completely fine. But just remember my story will be different, so please don't complain if your favorite character dies or if I didn't do exactly what the game did. There will be some inspirations from the game but nothing more. If you're ready for that, Enjoy!

Kaede wasn't about to let some crazy stuffed bear control her life. No matter the situation, she and her new friends were going to get out of this together, one way or another.

Or so she thought.

They had tried escaping by the exit in the manhole, but it was full of traps and no one was making progress. Not to mention they didn't have much time before the deadline for a murder.

"How long is this flat chested virgin gonna keep making repeat this?" Miu flung her hands up in defeat.

"My legs hurt…I don't have enough healing magic for this…" Himiko sighed.

"Why are you making poor Himiko do such a dangerous task? That's only what degenerate males do!" Tenko shouted.

"You trying to be the hero? Cause frankly it ain't going so well." Kokichi simply stated.

"I-I…" Kaede stuttered and bit her nail.

"Guys shut up! She was only trying to help us escape!" Kaito shouted. "And you have no right to judge seeing that you actually seem excited about all this!" He pointed to Kokichi.

"Hey, I was only stating the truth." The self-proclaimed dictator said.

"Why you!" Kaito balled his fists.

"Please no fighting! Kaede try to help!" Gonta said.

"Take it easy everyone, we just need to rest." Rantaro suggested.

"Don't be upset, we're just exhausted from all this." Tsumugi put a hand on Kaede's.

"She's right. We're all tired so lets just head back for now." Shuichi suggested.

"I agree, fighting and pushing our bodies to the limit will not help." Kiyo tipped his hat.

"Kaede, none of this is your fault. Let's just retreat for now." Kiibo reassured.

"Guys, I'm sorry…. Let's try to come up with a plan later." Kaede said as Shuichi and Tsumugi guided her out.

"Let's leave all plans in Atua's hands." Angie suggested while clasping her hands together.

"If anyone needs further service, I'd be happy to assist you." Kirumi said.

Kaede laid down in her room, her head clouded with thoughts. She felt bad about putting her friends through so much work. But she couldn't sulk for now. She had to come up with a plan for everyone to escape. Finally, the weight of her tired body gave out and she fell asleep.

That morning, everyone had gathered except for a certain pianist. It seemed like a touchy topic, so no one brought it up.

"Does anybody remember the ultimate hunt?"

A sudden question in the midst of silence filled the dining hall. Everyone looked over at Rantaro.

"Ultimate…Hunt?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't sound fun." Himiko poked at her breakfast.

"I can assure you it's not. I'm just asking if anyone remembers it or at least heard of it." Rantaro cleared.

"Nah, doesn't ring a bell. Sorry man." Kaito shook his head and popped a hash brown in his mouth.

"Does it have anything to do why we're here?" Ryouma asked.

"I'm not sure. I just heard about riots of some sort would go after students." Rantaro said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. We were all kidnapped by some men in black and brought here by force, right? Kinda relates to the word hunt." Shuichi put down his fork.

"This just gets more confusing." Tenko rubbed her temple.

"If you know anything, spill it asshole. I thought I was gonna get violated by those guys." Miu snarled.

"That's all I know, sorry. Besides I can't even remember my own talent." Rantaro brushed it the topic aside.

Shuichi found this odd but ignored it. He couldn't take his mind off the absent blonde.

Kaede heard a knock on her door. Groaning, she got up and opened it.

"Tsumugi? Shuichi? Morning." She rubbed her eyes and tried to smile.

"Good morning Kaede!" Tsumugi said cheerfully. "Everyone had breakfast, so we were wondering where you were."

"Oh uh, I overslept. I'm just exhausted from yesterday, I'm sorry." Kaede responded. In truth, she didn't want to face everyone at breakfast.

"It's fine, I think we all were." Shuichi said awkwardly.

"I'm such a coward…" The blonde looked down.

"Kaede, please don't say that. We were all tired and worried about you. Especially us." Shuichi said.

The pianist smiled sadly.

"You know Kaede, its ok to be upset. We're all in an awful situation." Tsumugi looked at the blonde in sympathy.

Kaede said nothing.

"I know! After breakfast, let's get your nails done!" The blue-haired suggested.

"What really? By whom?" Kaede asked.

"Me, silly! I'm the ultimate cosplayer after all." She smiled proudly. "Besides I notice you always bite your nails when you're nervous."

"Oh," Kaede looked down at her nails shyly.

Shuichi had also noticed this trait. He knew the feeling, he often felt nervous and used his hat as a shield.

"Anyway, if your nails are pretty then you won't bite them." Tsumugi pointed out.

"Ok I'll go! Thanks, Tsumugi." Kaede beamed. She quickly forgot why she was upset.

"Uh, will you be okay, Kaede?" Shuichi asked.

"Shuichi I'm only getting my nails done. Plus, I need to relax and get my mind off all this." Kaede responded sweetly.

Shuichi sighed, and smiled at Tsumugi. She was much better than him at comforting someone.

Shuichi decided to explore the school grounds. When he stopped at the library, he noticed something odd. One of the bookcases in the back had no books piled on top of it. Also, there were scrape marks on the ground, like a door would make after opening. He knew this was a cliché in media, mainly mysteries, but every bookcase would hide a door or passageway of some sort. As the ultimate detective, he had to try.

His hunch was right. The bookcase moved to reveal what's behind it. But that's not what surprised the detective. What surprised him was what the bookcase revealed. It was a hidden black and white door. But why was it here? Why did it have a design Monokuma would consider stylish? Shuichi didn't know what to do. Should he tell the others? Or should he just keep it to himself? No, this wasn't something he alone should know. He had to tell someone he trusted.

Rantaro was anxious. He was looking through a tablet in his room. He gingerly tapped his ringed fingers on it. The video was intriguing to say the least. If it was true, then he'd have to act alone. At the same, he was debating on one person he felt he could possibly trust. Well maybe not completely, it was too soon for that. But the Ultimate Detective could probably help in one way or another.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaede was excited. She never gotten her nails done before. She played piano and bit her nails out of nervous habit from having to play at recitals; rendering them plain and chipped. Tsumugi offered to paint her nails after everyone seemed upset at the pianist for what happened. Kaede was excited by the girl's kindness and possible new friend. She walked into the game room to see Tsumugi already there.

"I hope I didn't make you wait." She said

"I just got here too Kaede," Tsumugi said sweetly.

"So, uh, I don't know where to start," Kaede said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's okay I bought all kinds of colors and sticker designs." She showed Kaede a tray of nail polish and a set of stickers with designs such as cats and flowers.

"They're all so cute!" Kaede exclaimed.

"How about this pink? To match your sweater." The cosplayer suggested. She held up a nail polish bottle with an unknown name brand.

"Great idea," Kaede said.

"Okay I'll get it all ready."

"That smell is really strong. Are you sure we should use this one? Maybe we can try that purple one." Kaede pointed to a more well-known brand of nail polish.

"No! I insist Kaede. This pink one is an expensive name brand you don't usually find in stores. Since I help with some famous cosplayers I was able to get my hands on them."

"You must be really good at making them if famous cosplayers wear them." Kaede said as Tsumugi started painting her nails.

"Oh no, I'm not that good." The cosplayer smiled.

The door opened and both girls looked up.

"Oh hey, sorry am I interrupting something? I came in here earlier and thought I forgot something" Rantaro waved nervously.

In truth, he was investigating the campus as many times as possible in case he missed something vital.

"No not at all! Tsumugi is just doing my nails," Kaede replied smiling.

"Ah, I see. That smell is pretty strong. Are you sure its ok to use? He asked.

"It's fine, Tsumugi uses a special brand for cosplay!" Kaede retorted.

Rantaro was silent for a few seconds, then spoke "Those colors are pretty. Mind if I try?" He suggested.

"You know about nail art?" Kaede's eyes beamed.

"How can he know? From all those girlfriends of yours?" Tsumugi protested.

"Excuse me? No, I never had one. What gave you such an idea?"

"You seem like 'that' type." Tsumugi responded casually, seemingly unaware of how rude that came off. Kaede noticed this and decided to ease the tension.

"You know about nail art?" Kaede asked again.

"A bit. Here." He took her hand and started brushing her nails.

"Rantaro! That tickles!" Kaede giggled.

"Don't move please,"

Tsumugi, who'd been silent the whole time, watched them uneasily.

"Um, might I suggest these stickers?" Tsumugi interrupted and showed Kaede nail stickers shaped like musical notes.

"These are so cute!" Kaede said excitedly.

"These are perfect. It'll match your hair pins. Thanks, Tsumugi" Rantaro said and took the stickers from Tsumugi's hand.  


"Ah…" Tsumugi couldn't protest.

When he was done, Kaede looked at her hands in amazement.

"Thanks, Rantaro! This is amazing! Maybe you're the Ultimate Nail Artist!" She giggled.

"No, this is nothing. I did this all the time."

"Where did you learn to do this? A girlfriend?" Kaede asked.

"No, Kaede. I just mentioned earlier that I never had one. It was for my younger sisters." He responded firmly.

"I see, sorry for assuming," she said apologetically.

"It's fine, I guess. It happens all the time." He smiled, but not genuinely. Kaede fidgeted, ashamed for judging the attractive young man. Tsumugi was a different story.

"Yeah right showoff. You edgie normies and your whores. Go die in a mine field." She muttered.

"What was that Tsumugi?" Kaede asked.

"She's been staring daggers at us. Did we do something wrong?" Rantaro asked.

"I had fun Tsumugi! Let's do this again," Kaede was back to her cheerful self.

The cosplayer forced a smile and gathered her things and left in one fell swoop. Rantaro and Kaede exchanged confused glances and said their goodbyes.

Shortly after Shuichi's discovery, Kaede heard a knock on her door.

She opened it to see a very distressed looking Shuichi.

"Shuichi? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Kaede I gotta talk to you! Its urgent!" He looked up from his hat.

"O-okay," she said and let him in.

"What?! No way! O-one of us is…?" Kaede's pupils shrunk and her face turned pale.

"I don't want to believe it either. But it's the only conclusion I can deduct from this hidden door." Shuichi lowered his hat. Shuichi told her his theory after his discovery in the library.

Kaede closed her eyes, deep in thought. She looked down at her newly done nails and clenched her fist. She didn't' want to suspect her new friends. Finally, she sighed and looked at Shuichi again.

"You're right. I hate to admit it, but it's definitely possible." Kaede said looking like her determined self again.

They decided to take action.

Miu wasn't exactly the most approachable person. She was loud, cocky, and foul-mouthed. But the ultimate pair didn't have a choice. She was the only person who can truly help them in this situation.

"No way, fuckers. Go back to doing whatever boys and girls do behind closed doors." Miu waved her hand to shoo them.

The pair looked at each other and nodded. They knelt on their knees, surprising the inventor.

"W-w-what is this? What are you doing?" Miu jittered

"Miu, please." Shuichi begged.

"Miu this is urgent. We don't have much time before we all get killed. We're so close to possibly finding a way out of here, but we really need your help." Kaede pressed.

"We can't do this without your talent," Shuichi pleaded.

"A-ah, Okay okay! J-just get up! And give me until tomorrow morning. Just stop by my lab." Miu fidgeted with her long hair.

"Thank you so much Miu!" Kaede got up and gave the other blonde a big smile.

"Yeah thanks." Shuichi smiled shyly.

"W-whatever." Miu managed to say before walking away quickly.

"Alright! Now we just gotta wait for her to finish and we can capture the mastermind!" Kaede looked pumped.

Shuichi smiled in response. In truth, he was nervous on what they would find. He knew they needed to take risks to find the truth. Something he was always afraid of doing. But this was a life or death situation. He couldn't let his past fears consume him forever.

"Well I doubt I could do any of this without you,"

"What was that?" Kaede looked at him.

"What? Ah, nothing." Shuichi looked away at first, but he couldn't help gazing at her affectionately.

The next morning, they stopped by Miu's lab as planned.

"Alright listen up, these cameras will snap a picture, but it'll take thirty seconds to roll before it can take another. This little guy here will vibrate like those good ol' toys I play with when the cameras are triggered."

Kaede rolled her eyes and took the buzzer.

"And this baby here will show an aerial view of the whole thing in case the camera misses anything vital. They're great for spying, too." Miu snickered.

"Alright thank you Miu. Really this will help a lot." Shuichi nodded to her.

"Yup, thanks so much!" Kaede smiled.

"Y-yeah sure. Well if you're gonna take pictures and record other various things, I'd love to see them!" Miu drooled.

"Uh," Shuichi couldn't find the right response to that and was pulled away by the blushing pianist.


	3. Chapter 3

The pair decided to get some tape from the warehouse to help keep the cameras in place. Kaede noticed shot put balls in a large container.

"Those look heavy. I don't know why they would be here though." Shuichi looked at them uneasily. Heavy objects like weights always made him feel this way. But he would never admit it's because of his small stature.

"Well this is an old school, so probably for some kind of sport?" Kaede raised her eyebrow. "Anyways, we got everything we needed right? Let's head to the library."

He nodded and followed.

After setting up the cameras in the right places, Shuichi noticed Kaede fidgeting with the long pile of books atop the bookcases. Shuichi tested from one of the cameras and heard a clicking sound from above. Guess the aerial projector Miu made worked.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"Uh, nothing. I just organize stuff when I'm anxious." She answered as quickly as she could.

"Uh okay but be careful. I'll be here in case you fall."

"It's fine, I'm all done anyway!" Kaede climbed down.

"And now we wait. Let's wait by the classroom by the stairs so we see whose coming." She suggested.

Shuichi and Kaede sat in the classroom and sighed heavily. They were exhausted from all the work they had to do downstairs. After a few moments the pianist looked over at the detective. He was looking down, fidgeting with the buzzer.

"What's wrong Shuichi?"

"Ah, nothing. Just can't believe we might soon find out who's behind all this." Shuichi responded.

"Are you sure that's it?" The pianist tilted her head.

"What?" He looked up.

"You always seem hesitant about something, Shuichi. Why?"

The black-haired boy didn't say anything at first. Then he sighed.

"I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

"Since I work as a detective, I always have to seek the truth. But I'm afraid to. Like what would I find out? What if the truth is so ugly that, I'd regret trying… Sometimes I don't want to find out. I don't want to see how cruel this world is. I'm not even a real detective Kaede. I only worked in my uncle's office and solved one case. But I helped him solve a case no one could figure out and they deemed me a hero. But I didn't feel like one. You see, the criminal was only avenging his loved ones after the victim violently murdered them. When he got arrested, I saw the infuriating hatred behind his glare. I was the reason this person, -who only gave the victim what he deserved-will be in prison for a long time. Ever since, I could barely look at anyone in the eye. And now, I have to sit and wait to find out which one of my friends is the mastermind. I-I don't know Kaede. I'm scared."

Shuichi folded his hands on the desk, his hat covering his eyes. He was surprised to feel a warm hand reach out and take his. He looked up to see the blonde smiling warmly.

"Shuichi, it's okay to feel afraid. It's a natural feeling. When I was younger, I'd often feel nervous to perform a recital. It was because I was booed at during this one recital, which I only messed up cuz I was nervous. I didn't want to play for a while. But then I realized that music moves people. It eases their pain. It makes them happy. And that was the same as my goal; to make people smile. And I know you can do the same, Shuichi. Your intelligent, sweet, and trustworthy. You can bring smiles to worried people who only want resolve. Don't let one incident break you. You're stronger than that. I know it. And when this is all over, I want you to take off your hat. Show the world with that cute face what you're capable of. I know you can do it." Kaede finished and gripped his hand.

Shuichi was speechless. He couldn't believe the confident pianist had a dark secret of her own. He was even more shocked at what she said. He felt his heart melting from her kind words and her warm hand.

"Kaede…" He whispered.

"You don't have to say anything, Shuichi. Just think about what I said, okay?" Kaede rubbed her thumb on his hand.

He gulped and nodded.

"Hey, I know a song you might like, Clair de Lune. It's very peaceful. When this is over let's head to my lab and I'll play it, whaddya say?" Kaede asked.

"Yes, I love to hear you play," Shuichi leaned over in interest. Kaede beamed.

They suddenly heard footsteps outside the classroom. When they peeked out the doorway they saw Tenko, Maki,Angie, Gonta, Himiko, Kaito and Rantaro walking downstairs.

Kaede and Shuichi looked puzzled.

"What do you think is happening?" Kaede whispered to Shuichi.

"Dunno. They're probably holding a meeting of some sort. I would join but we should still keep watch." Shuichi suggested.

'Yeah you're right."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. He missed the touch of Kaede's hand. He was about to hesitantly reach out for it when their hearts nearly stopped at the loud sound on the desk.

The buzzer was going off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I liked the bond between Shuichi and Kaede in the classroom scene in the game so I added it here. Except I used original dialogue and added that Kaede had a bad experience with a recital to inspire Shuichi better.


	4. Chapter 4

They stared at each other wide eyed.

"Let's go," Shuichi ordered. Kaede nodded and dropped her bag before quickly following behind.

They ran downstairs as fast as they could and into the library. What they saw was Rantaro looking up at the books atop the shelves in confusion.

"Rantaro! What are you doing here?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah, Shuichi, Kaede. Take a look at this." Rantaro turned around and pointed to the shelves.

They both looked up and noticed the books were stacked in a staircase like matter.

"Look what we have here," Rantaro said and picked up the shot-put ball. "This just rolled down from there. Can't be a coincidence, right? Not with the way the books are set up,"

Kaede fidgeted her fingers and Shuichi lowered his hat.

"What's wrong? Do you know something?" The green haired male asked.

"Rantaro. Are you the mastermind?" Shuichi asked, giving the other a stern look.

"Hey, I already said I'm not a bad guy. And I told you guys I planned to stop the killing game. If I was the mastermind, why would I openly tell you guys my plan?"

Shuichi couldn't argue with that.

"But why else would you come here? How did you know about the hidden door?" Shuichi pressed.

Rantaro wasn't about to tell him the true reason.

"I was looking at some books in here and stumbled across it." He responded.

Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know about it?" Rantaro shot back.

Shuichi was slightly taken aback.

"Well, we've all seen the bookshelf cliché and I noticed something was off about that one. I decided to tell Kaede about it too, since I trusted her." He responded.

Kaede bit her nails. Her plan had failed, but she didn't know how to tell them. How could she? She tried to kill someone! How will her friends understand such an unforgivable move?

"Obviously someone had plotted to kill me, or whoever came in here." Rantoro crossed his arms and looked at them darkly.

Kill someone? Shuichi was confused. Kaede on the other hand looked like a mouse caught in a trap.

They barely noticed the door burst open.

Tenko and Kaito walked in.

"Guys? What's up? We came in because Rantaro was taking too long!" Kaito walked over.

Kaede bit her nails harder. "Rantaro…. I-I'm so sorr- "The teary-eyed pianist didn't finish her sentence and collapsed to the floor.

"Kaede!" Shuichi shouted.

"What the heck?" Kaito asked.

"What's wrong? Kaede wake up!" Rantaro, forgetting about the situation and bent down, frantically shaking the blonde.

"HEY YOU DEGENERATE MALES! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Tenko shouted and shoved both Shuichi and Rantaro with ease, knocking them a few feet away. They groaned in pained and tried to sit back up.

"Kaede! Kaede did these guys do anything to you?" She gently shook the fainted girl.

"Hey…guys…." Kaito started sweating nervously. But before he could finish his sentence, the four of them heard an odd bell.

BING BONG, BING BONG

The monitor flickered and Monokuma appeared onscreen.

"A body has been discovered! Everyone, gather to the library immediately."

"W-wha- "Shuichi stuttered.

Tenko's face turned pale before suddenly jumping back from Kaede's body.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed.

"GYAAAAGGHHH!" Kaito stumbled backwards.

The door burst open and the four people from the game room entered.

"What's wrong? Gonta heard…. Gyaaaaaaggghhh!" Gonta screamed with a horrified look on his face.

Himiko froze in place.

"Himiko don't look!" Tenko grabbed the little magician and pulled her away.

"Oh dear, what is wrong with Kaede?" Angie asked.

"She's dead. Didn't you hear the announcement?" Maki replied.

"That is not good, not good at all." Angie tilted her head.

"How can you be so calm?!" Gonta asked.

"What are we gonna do?!" Kaito was sweating profusely.

Suddenly more footsteps came rushing in.

"Whoa! Did someone violate her?" Miu gagged.

"GYAAAAHHHHH!" Kiibo shouted.

"My goodness!" Kirumi covered her mouth with her gloved hands.

"Eeeeeeek!" Tsumugi cringed.

"I-is Kaede…. WAAAAHH and she only wanted to help us!" Kokichi cried.

"Oh my. This is most unpleasant." Kiyo tipped his hat upon the sight.

"How ironic. The one who wanted to live died and the one who wished death lived." Ryouma stated.

Shuichi barely heard the screams and panic of his friends. All he could think about was the cheerful, positive pianist he befriended, now lying dead on the floor. Never to get back up again. Never to play the instrument she loved so much. Never to push anyone forward. Never to smile at him again.

A firm hand gripped his shoulder, snapping him back to reality.

"Shuichi. I know this is hard, but please stay with us. We have to find out what happened." Rantaro looked him sternly.

The detective peered back from his hat. He wiped his face with his sleeve "Right."

"That's correct!" A high pitched voiced made everyone jump.

"Ahh! Why is the stupid bear here?" Kaito pointed.

"What do you want?" Kirumi sighed.

"Did you do this to her you psycho?!" Tenko glared.

"Now, now, even I have rules to follow. What happened to Blondie was done by one of you!" Monokuma responded.

"What?!" Kiibo panicked.

"Are you certain?" Rantaro lowered his eyebrows.

"Quite! I did say this was a killing game, after all." The bear said.

"Only Atua knows! Let him give us the answer in due time." Angie proclaimed.

"Please take this more seriously," Tsumugi suggested.

"Well now what? Can we get any clues cuz trying to figure this out with no lead would be booooring." Kokichi yawned.

"You sick- "Kaito was about to lunge at him.

"Don't bother. We can deal with this child later. What matters now is the focus at hand." Ryouma said loud enough to get through the astronaut's rash attitude.

"Well it's time for investigation! I present to you, the Monokuma File!" He handed Shuichi a tablet of a sort.

"Also, you'll only have a certain amount of time to do the investigation before we get to the class trial, so good luck! Puhuhuhu!" The bear disappeared after that.

"Hey wait!" Kaito shouted after the bear.

"No need for that. All we can do now is do what he says." Ryouma said.

"Anyway, let's check it out." Rantaro pointed to the Monokuma File in the Shuichi's hands. The detective hesitantly turned it on.

"I guess we have no choice but to go along with this." Kiyo closed his eyes in reluctant acceptance.

"Are we gonna ravage through this chick's body for clues?" Miu said excitedly.

"That is not gentlemanly!" Gonta pointed out.

Shuichi felt his palms sweating.

"If you're too nervous I'll do it, Shuichi." Rantaro took the tablet from the shorter male and started reading it. A heavy silence filled the dusty air of the library. After glancing over it a few times, Rantaro scratched his chin in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Shuichi fidgeted his fingers.

"Here Shuichi. What do you think?" Rantaro handed the detective the tablet. While he read it, expression became more confused.

"May I ask what it says?" Kirumi spoke up.

"This is odd." Shuichi said.

"What is? Spill the beans Shyhara!" Miu said impatiently.

 _"The victim was the Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu. Found dead in the library. Time of death is around 8:50pm. The cause of death is poisoning. There are no signs of physical injury on the body._ " Shuichi finished uneasily.

"Huh?" Angie tilted her head.

"P-poisoning…?" Himiko repeated.

"That is indeed strange." Kirumi added.

"What? But how? We didn't see her drink anything!" Kaito pointed out.

"Did you degenerates force some down her throat before we came in?!" Tenko shouted.

"Of course not, Tenko. If we did, there would be a bottle or cup of the sort lying around. As you can see, there isn't." Rantaro gestured his hand to the floor around her body.

"Poisoning, huh? Interesting…" Kokichi grinned.

"Shut up!" Kaito shot at the dictator.

"How are we gonna figure out who gave her the poison?" Ryouma pointed out.

"We just have to search everyone's alibis." Shuichi said.

"But she collapsed right as we came in!" Kaito obliged.

"I know, but let's just ask everyone if they saw her today and see if we can get a hint." Shuichi crossed his arms.

-BEGIN INVESTIGATION-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm so sorry for all you SaiMatsu fans out there. I know it seemed like I was building up their relationship but to be honest...I like Shuichi a lot better than Kaede. Sure, she's likable but she's too generic. Also, I feel like people only like her because she's a female protagonist (obviously they forgot Komaru Naeigi from Ultra Despair Girls). As much as I love seeing female leads, a good character shouldn't be based on their gender, but their overall personality, skills, and backstory. Makoto Naegi from the first was just a typical positive hero. Hajime Hinata from 2 gives off the vibe of a typical male teenager. Nothing interesting about him except that his talent is unknown and his alter ego as Izuru Kamukura. Shuichi Saihara on the other hand, is a detective, intelligent, and great at lying when he needs to. Kaede helped build his character from a shy teenager always hiding under his hat to a confident thinker and leader. In my opinion he's a much better protagonist.


	5. Chapter 5

-BEGIN INVESTIGATION-

Shuichi wasn’t sure where to start. He decided to tell everyone about the library first.

“Hey guys, look at this.” He and Rantaro pulled the bookshelf. Everyone gasped.

“Holy crap! There’s a door here!” Tenko shouted.

“What a cool magic trick,” Himiko stared.

“Is it a prayer room?” Angie asked.

“I doubt it. It looks like a secret lair of some sort.” Shuichi shook his head.

“But you know what this means, don’t you Shuichi?” Kokichi asked.

Shuichi nodded. “It means one of us is working with Monokuma.”

Everyone fell silent.

“W-what do you mean?” Miu asked.

“Take a look at the pattern. It matches Monokuma’s color. And if this were his room, then why would he need to hide it?” Shuichi answered.

“That’s correct. There’s no doubt that someone uses this room secretly.” Rantaro said.

“Is that why you guys set this all up?” Kiibo asked.

“Yeah, the cameras, the card reader and everything. We planned to catch who the mastermind on camera.” Shuichi looked down.

“So did we get pictures?” Gonta asked.

Suddenly Monokuma popped out again.

“Nyeehh! It’s the creepy teddy bear!” Himiko said.

“Degenerate bear! How dare you scare Himko like that!” Tenko scolded.

“Shut it you whiner! I just came to take these!” He grabbed the cameras including the air drone Miu made.

“Hands off my inventions!”

“Yeah we need those!” Rantaro called.

“Don’t worry, I plan to develop them. If anyone else tried there’s a chance they’re the culprit and will try to burn em.” Monokuma stated.

“Fine, but don’t inconvenience us. We need to get to the bottom of this.” Kirumi said.

“I won’t I won’t.” Monokuma said and disappeared again. Everyone went off to do their own investigating.

Kokichi went up and picked up something.

“What’s a random shot-put ball doing on the ground?” The liar tossed the ball up and caught it again.

“That’s what I’m asking.” Rantaro stated.

“It probably has nothing to do with this case, since Kaede didn’t suffer any injuries from it. Besides there’d be blood on it if it were.” Shuichi said.

“Good point, detective. Just don’t overlook anything.” Kokichi gave a creepy grin and went to inspect the rest of the library.

Shuichi sighed. While he waited for the pictures to develop, he’d have to look elsewhere. He decided to ask everyone’s alibis. He started with the person closest to him.

“Rantaro,” He asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Shuichi?”

“What were you doing before you came into the library?” Shuichi asked.

Rantaro blinked at him.

“Um, sorry I have to interrogate everyone to gather as much information as possible. I know she…died in front of us but- “

“No need to explain, Shuichi I understand.” Rantaro put a hand up.

Shuichi sighed in relief.

“Well I was in my room when Kaito called Angie, Tenko, Himiko, Maki, and Gonta to meet with him in the game room to discuss a strategy plan.”

“Yeah, I uh, actually saw you guys walking together.” Shuichi said in a low voice.

“Did you now? Well he figured since I had some memories except my talent we could deduct what’s going on.”

“I see.” Shuichi took note of it.

“How did the meeting go?”

“Ah, well we didn’t get to have it since I walked out.”

“What did you wanna check out?” Shuichi tilted his head.

“I noticed something odd about the bookcase like you, Shuichi. That’s actually why I joined Kaito’s group, so I can confirm it and tell them.”

Shuichi stared, then nodded. He believed Rantaro but had a strange feeling that the taller male wasn’t telling him everything. But he didn’t have time to press for more. He needed to get everyone else’s alibies.

The first person that came to mind was Kaito. He was the one who arranged the meeting, after all. He found the astronaut outside the library leaning against the wall. He was looking up at the ceiling, staring off into space. (Pun not intended).

“Hey Kaito,” Shuichi greeted.

“Ah Shuichi! What’s up?” Kaito almost jumped. It was clear he was troubled but tried to keep his usual attitude.

“Well uh, I wanna investigate this so I’m asking everyone what they did today. Rantaro told me that you held a meeting.”  


“Oh that, haha. Well yeah, I figured we had to find a way out of this hellhole somehow. So, I gathered who I thought was capable of helpin’ out.” Kaito rubbed the back of his head.

“So why did you ask them specifically.” Shuichi asked.

“Well Gonta and Tenko are obviously the best fighters here. Maki said she’s a child caretaker, but I believe she’s strong. Himiko probably has a few tricks up her sleeve. Rantaro might know something after what he said at breakfast. And if there’s a God out there, Angie is our best bet of praying.” Kaito explained.

“I guess,” Shuichi said.

“Hey, c’mon man. I know you’re down. I am too. She was a great leader. She knew how to keep a level head, unlike me. I’m always tryin’ to be the hero but I lose my temper way too easily.” Kaito tucked his hands in his pocket and sighed.

“No Kaito, I’m glad you’re here. You were one of the few who stood up for Kaede. I was glad you did that.” Shuichi reassured.

“Thanks man. But you’re the one I’m really worried about. I knew how close you two were.”

“Yeah,” Shuichi looked down.

“But we’ll fine the bastard and make sure they pay!” Kaito put his fists together.

“Right,” Shuichi tried to push the sadness aside. He needed to focus.

He bumped into Tenko when he walked back into the library.

“Oh Shuichi. I’m sorry for what happened to Kaede You’re not that degenerate if she liked hanging out with you.”

“Uh, thanks.” Shuichi just took it as a compliment since it came from Tenko.

“So, before you and Kaito ran into the library, what did you guys do in the game room?” Shuichi questioned. 

“Let’s see, well as soon as we got in, Gonta suddenly locked himself in the AV room behind the game room.”

“Wait, what?” Neither Kaito nor Rantaro mentioned this.

“Yeah, he said he wasn’t feeling up to it and needed to think first. I think he said he wanted to check out some bug documentary.”

“I see, what else happened?”

“Well we tried to get him to come out but to no avail, so we decided to wait. Then shortly after Rantaro excused himself saying he had to check something in the library. Kaito and I didn’t think it’d be safe for him to walk around alone when the time limit was nearing so we followed. And yeah that’s when we bumped into you guys.”

“Alright, thanks Tenko this will help a lot.”

“Y-yeah well I only did this for Kaede’s sake. You’re still a degenerate male!” Tenko pointed out.

He finally decided to check the one thing he’s been avoiding. Kaede’s body.

Shuichi took a deep breath and walked into the library to find Rantaro and Kokichi still there, inspecting Kaede’s body. Miu was also there but looked anxious.

“Ah Shuichi! How are ya!” The liar looked up after seemingly inspecting her hands.

Shuichi scowled at his tone. Kokichi was smart enough to know that Shuichi wasn’t fine at all. He tried to ignore it now and sighed.

“Kokichi, what were you doing before the announcement?”

“Oh, so now I’m under suspicion, just cuz I’m a lying dictator?”

“……..”

“Aw, come one don’t be like that. I was with the cosplayer, Kiyo, the whore, and our personal maid in the dining hall. So, we all have alibis. Ask any one of the guys I mentioned. They’ll tell you.” He said and walked out.

“I doubt he’s lying if he named that many people,” Rantaro claimed. Shuichi nodded.

“Besides you might wanna inspect her body carefully.” Kokichi winked and walked off.

The detective sighed.

“Got any leads so far?” Rantaro asked.

“Not that I can make clear of.”

“That’s alright. Let’s just see what else we can find.”

Suddenly Monokuma appeared again.

“There you are! I was hoping you weren’t gonna break my ingenius inventions!” Miu said.

“Calm down, I’m only here cuz the pictures are ready. Puhuhuhu! Good luck!” Monokuma responded then vanished.

They all looked at them. The first was Rantaro opening the bookcase. The second was him closing in on the camera. The third showed Shuichi Kaede and Rantaro walking in. The fourth showed them talking. The fifth showed Kaede collapsed on the floor. The air drome picture just showed the library from the top view.

“This is basically just what happened before Tenko and Kaito came in.” Shuichi said.

“They might not help much, but let’s hold onto them. Maybe you should take a look at her, Shuichi.”

Shuichi reluctantly agreed and knelt down next to Kaede’s body.

Her face looked distressed, like she was having a nightmare. Her hands were close to her face and chest. Her newly done nails were chipped. Shuichi sighed. He knew she was nervous despite her outer persona. But like the Monokuma File said, there was nothing out of the ordinary from the outside. It looked like she simply fainted out of shock.

“Hey Rantaro,” The detective got up and asked.

“Yes?”

“Right before Kaede collapsed, you said someone plotted to kill you. What did you mean by that?”  


Rantaro stared at him. Before he could answer, they heard a doorbell sound.

DING DONG BING BONG

The monitor flickered on, and Monokuma appeared onscreen.

“Alright, time’s up! Everyone gather at the fountain by the statue, pronto!”

“Seriously?” Shuichi said. Shit, he didn’t have time to interrogate everyone.

“Aw, man can a hottie like me get her beauty sleep first?” Miu said then walked out.

Only him and Rantaro were left.

“You ready, Shuichi?” He asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Shuichi balled his fist. “Yeah, let’s go.”

He took one last look at her body then walked out.


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone was already at the fountain. Most of them looked anxious, except Maki and Ryouma who just looked bored.

"Hey man, you got this." Kaito walked up to Shuichi and patted his back.

"Yeah, I guess. But we don't have much evidence." Shuichi looked down.

"Aw come on. You're the ultimate detective. You can figure anything out."

"The faster the better. I just wanna go home." Himiko yawned.

"I bet if one of you degenerate males didn't kill her, poor Himiko would get her beauty sleep!" Tenko shouted.

"And how do you know the culprit is male?" Kiyo questioned.

"Well one of us nice ladies can't be low enough to commit murder!" 

"Uh guys take a look at that." Tsumugi pointed at the Monokuma statue by the fountain. They all turned to see it descending and an entrance to an elevator opened up.

"This is it." Kiibo sighed.

"May Atua be with us all." Angie clasped her hands together.

"Let's just get this over with," Maki said.

The elevator was large enough to fit all of them. They descended in complete silence. All Shuichi could think about was that he had to find Kaede's killer. It was the only way the sweet girl can rest in peace.

Everyone went to their assigned stands. Monokuma stood at the small throne above the main trial area.

-CLASS TRIAL-

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the Class Trial! During the trial you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for 'who dunnit'. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy!" Monokuma announced.

"What the hell kind of fucked up rule is that?!" Kaito shouted.

"It seems we have to go over every last detail to be absolutely certain." Kiyo pointed out.

"But how are we gonna do that? We hardly have any clues!" Tenko said.

"Let's just deduct what we have." Kiibo suggested.

"Firstly, I didn't get to answer your question Shuichi. I think now would be a perfect time for me to answer." Rantaro said.

"Save your private conversations for the bedroom, not now!" Miu was irritated.

Shuichi blushed while Rantaro ignored her.

"Rantaro, why did you assume someone was plotting a murder when you went into the library?" Shuichi remembered what he asked.

"What? Someone was already onto one of us?" Kaito panicked.

"What the heck did you find there?" Tenko asked.

"There was a stack of books piled in an odd way on top of the shelves. Not to mention a shot-put ball that fell near me when I walked over to the camera." Rantaro said.

"What do you mean odd way?" Kirumi asked.

"Miu, think you can show us?" Rantaro looked over to Miu.

"I see Shyhara forgot about my own creation! The flying drone! This baby can take pictures from all angles and I mean aalll angles." Miu laughed and took out a picture.

They passed around a picture of an aerial view of the library. Sure enough, it showed that the books were piled in a downhill motion, starting from the vent to the camera area. Shuichi stared at it in disbelief.

"And what does this tell ya?" Kokichi asked.

"It means…." Shuichi thought. Now he remembered. It was odd that Kaede was rearranging the books on the shelves back when they had set up the cameras. "It means that Kaede had set this up to… kill someone."  


"Why the heck would she do that?" Tenko looked horrified.

"And how did you know it was her and not the killer?" Maki asked.

"Because I was with Kaede in the classroom by the stairs. The air duct starts from there." Shuichi said it through his teeth. "We found a shot-put ball in the storage. She must've picked one up when I wasn't looking. Kaede rolled the it in the classroom's vent to kill the mastermind."

"Did you see Kaede roll ball?" Gonta asked.

"Well, no. but she probably hid it in her backpack. Not to mention she left the classroom after I did; so she must've rolled it then."

"So we can assume our favorite pianist planned to kill the mastermind. But failed miserably." Kokichi said simply. Shuichi ignored the irritation he felt.

"What does this mean, then?" Ryouma asked.

Shuichi thought.

"It means, there's a chance that Kaede was killed by the mastermind."

"What?" Kaito shouted.

"Are you sure?" Rantaro looked surprised.

"Its highly likely. If they somehow knew about Kaede setting a trap, then they'd have to kill her before she kills them." Shuichi said.

"How would they know that?" Tsumugi asked.

"Think about it. If you were the mastermind, wouldn't you want to keep unseen cameras everywhere? So, they probably knew about me and Kaede setting things up. And if they're close to finding out your identity, you'd have to silence them, right?" Shuichi said.

"That still doesn't explain how she died. She apparently just collapsed in front of you two, right?" Ryouma said.

"Yeah and we have these pictures and Kaito and Tenko as witnesses." They passed around the rest of the pictures.

"Wait a fucking second. There's a thirty-second-time interval in between. How do we know you guys didn't drug her before the camera snapped another picture? Or before those two weirdos walked in?" Miu pointed out.

"T-that's..." Shuichi panicked.

"Oooooo, plot twist! Now the detective and his unknown talent friend is under suspicion!" Kokichi said.

"Why the hell are you excited, asshole?" Kaito shouted.

"I can assure you that we didn't do anything to her." Rantaro crossed his arms.

"Are you sure? Even if others won't forgive you, Atua certainly will." Angie said calmly.

"Fess up, degenerate males!" Tenko shouted.

"Maybe one of you was an accomplice." Ryouma fiddled with his candy cigarette.

"Don't the rules say 'culprit' not 'culprits'?" Kiibo pointed out.

"The rules say culprit, but accomplices are certainly allowed." Monokuma corrected.

"There! Now confess already so I can go to bed and have my daily wet dreams!" Miu shouted.

Rantaro glanced at Shuichi. Almost everyone was against them. They didn't know what else to do.

"Wait everyone! Shuichi and Rantaro not culprits!" A voice suddenly shouted.


	7. Chapter 7

“Wait everyone! Shuichi and Rantaro not culprits!”

“Everyone looked over to see the bug lover shout his rebuttal.

“Huh? What’s the guy with the monster dick sayin?” Miu asked.

“I’m not gonna ask how you know that…” Kiibo said.

“Gonta… saw Rantaro and Shuichi.”

“Wait what?” Shuichi’s eyes widened.

“Please elaborate.” Kirumi said.

“Well, remember when Gonta lock himself in AV room?” He continued.

“Yeah he was in there awhile.” Himiko said.

“Maybe he was praying?” Angie thought.

“No, not praying. Gonta felt scared and wanted to watch something, but then Gonta noticed the back door open. That’s where Gonta saw Rantaro walk into library. Then Kaede and Shuichi came and talk to him. But Gonta didn’t see them do bad thing.”

“There’s a back door?” Tenko asked.

“Yes, but it stuck so it only open a little. Enough to see and hear people in library.”

“Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” Shuichi asked.

“Gonta so sorry! But Gonta afraid that Shuichi think Gonta is spying… and get mad.”

“No, Gonta. You told us a very important clue. We’re not mad. We’re grateful actually.” Shuichi sighed in relief.

“Now our names our cleared, thanks big guy.” Rantaro smiled gently.

“Glad to help!” The entomologist beamed.

“Awesome! I knew Shuichi didn’t do it!” Kaito gave a thumb up.

“Well it didn’t do jack shit. We’re back to square one!” Miu sighed impatiently.

“This is a very vague case.” Kirumi added.

“Only Atua knows.”

“Ah, Shuichi, I think you’re forgetting something.” Kokichi grinned.

“What?”

“Remember every detail. Like, Kaede’s body.” Kokichi said slowly.

“But there were no visible injuries. She died from poisoning” Kiyo said.

“I didn’t say it was an injury.” Kokichi retorted.

“What are you going on about?” Maki glared.

“I’m asking if Shuichi noticed anything else. A detective like him can probably figure it out.”

Shuichi thought. What else was there? If it was poisoning, then the evidence would be almost nonexistent. Then he remembered.

“Hey, Rantaro.” He asked.

“What is it Shuichi?”

“Did you notice what Kaede was doing before she collapsed?”

The mysterious ultimate closed his eyes and thought. “Oh, she was biting her nails.”

“Isn’t that just a typical nervous habit?” Kiibo brought up.

“Yes, but biting your nails can cause nail polish to chip off, can it?” Shuichi asked.

“You’re getting warmer….” Kokichi sang.

“Wait, elaborate cuz I don’t know about this girly stuff.” Kaito raised an eyebrow.

“I’m saying…. There’s a possibility that someone knew about her nervous habit and decided to use that to their advantage.” Shuichi claimed.

Rantaro eyes widened. He knew Shuichi was onto something.

“Wait, are you saying,” Tenko asked.

“That’s right. Someone asked Kaede to do her nails. And I was there when that happened!” Shuichi said with confidence.

-SELECT A SUSPECT-


	8. Chapter 8

-SELECT A SUSPECT-

"That can only be you, Tsumugi Shirogane!" Shuichi pointed.

"What?! Why are you accusing me?!" Tsumugi freaked out.

"I remember you pointed out that she bit her nails often and you offered to paint them after breakfast the other day. At first I thought you were comforting her, but you had other intentions in mind." Shuichi said.

"But- Rantaro was there too! That rotten pretty boy painted Kaede's nails when I was supposed to!" She fought back.

"What?" The black-haired boy turned to Rantaro.

"It's true, I walked in on them while exploring the school. I had a feeling the nail polish had a strange scent, but I brushed it off. If I knew, I wouldn't have done them for her. Sorry I haven't mentioned this earlier, I didn't think it was important." He looked down and gripped his arm in guilt.

"There you see! So he's the culprit." Tsumugi smiled victoriously.

"But I didn't put the poison there." Rantaro fought back.

"Wait a minute Tsumugi, just now you didn't deny there was poison in the nail polish. You panicked and pointed fingers at him." Shuichi spectated.

"T-that's…."

"Poison in nail polish?" Himiko asked.

"Bingo! You got it Detective! Nice work." Kokichi said.

"Shut up you little shit!" Tsumugi yelled.

"How did you know?" Shuichi asked Kokichi.

"I noticed Kaede's nails were bitten off despite having nail polish. And who else besides the Ultimate Cosplayer would have that accessory? Surely Kaede wouldn't poison her own nail polish if she had any." The purple haired liar answered.

"That's why you were looking at Kaede's hands." Shuichi couldn't believe how quick the small boy was to pick up details.

Kokichi smiled innocently.

"But how do we know if Tsumugi is truly the culprit?" Kirumi asked.  


"This is all just speculation." Kiyo nodded.

"Let's check the nail polish itself. See if any of them matches the paint on her nails." Shuichi said.

"Let's test it for poison." Maki said.

"You can't just go through my personal things!" Tsumugi panicked.

"If you're not the culprit, why are you so worried then?" Kiibo questioned.

"Maybe she's afraid we might find her body pillows and hentai." Miu blushed.

"I'm concerned about a degenerate male going through a lady's belongings. But to find the culprit, sure." Tenko agreed.

"Well Tsumugi? Do you mind if we have a look at your nail polishes?" the detective cornered her.

"Are we allowed to go and check?" Rantaro instead turned to Monokuma.

"Don't ask him you normie!" Tsumugi yelled.

"As long as it has to do with the case, I'll allow it." The bear answered.

"WHAT! You can't allow this!"

"As headmaster, anything I say goes."

"You need me, you stupid bear!" Tsumugi blurted out, causing everyone to gasp.

"Tsumugi, what is this?" Kirumi asked.

"Is what the detective said true?" Ryouma followed.

"Are you a sinner too?" Angie tilted her head.

"Your suspicious behavior is only getting worse." Kiyo narrowed his eyes.

"Are you the culprit or not?" Maki glowered.

The only sound they heard was a giggle.

"HAHAHAHAHA you think you're so smart, don't you?" Tsumugi snapped. Her eyes suddenly glowed an eerie dark blue.

"What the hell?! She's gone completely nuts!" Kaito freaked out.

"Tsumugi so scary!" Gonta looked terrified.

"If only you haven't given him hints!" Tsumugi angrily pointed to Kokichi.

"Hey whatever leads to a more interesting story." Kokichi joked.

"And if that playboy minded his own fucking business! There would've been no witnesses!"

Rantaro scowled at that remark.

"Tsumugi…. It really was you. Why? Tell me why you killed her!" Tears ran down Shuichi's face.

"Was it because of her plan?" Rantaro asked.

"That's where the detective is wrong!" The cosplayer sneered.

"What?"

"Like you said, I offered to paint her nails. But it was way before she set her trap in motion, so your theory contradicted. In truth, she was too generic for a protagonist, so I decided to do away with her. You on the other hand, is smarter plus you're a detective. You'd be great for this story!" Tsumugi looked over at Shuichi.

Shuichi couldn't believe this was happening.

"Protagonist? Story? Is this some kind of sick game to you?!" Shuichi shouted.

"Yes, and it was going perfectly well until those bastards decided to butt in. I should've killed them first!" Tsumugi eyes locked onto Kokichi and Rantaro. The former laughed at her while the latter silently watched her break. It gave some of his classmates the chills.

Shuichi said nothing at first. Then he looked up from his hat, his eyes completely soulless.

"Monokuma, we're ready to vote." He said flatly.

'Wait Shuichi, are you sure? Is everyone okay with this?" Rantaro turned to his classmates.

"I think it's obvious who the culprit is by now." Ryouma stated.

"Agreed." Kirumi nodded.

"She has clearly lost it." Kiyo lowered his hat.

"Gonta no wanna do this… but have to."

"Atua will forge his wrath upon her."  


"I can't believe the killer is female… but a murderer is still a murderer!"  


"I doubt she will be safe to keep around." Kiibo squirmed.

"She uses her magic tricks for evil, so yeah."

"She's fucking psycho! Who else would we vote for?" Kaito said.

"Whatever. Fuck this nerdy bitch." Miu waved her hand.

"Alright then. Monokuma we're ready." Rantaro had a determined look on his face.

"Alright! It's voting time! Everyone please cast your votes!" The bear said excitedly.

"Wait! I'm the mastermind! I control everything!" Tsumugi protested.

"No, you're not." Monokuma said casually.

"She's not?" Maki asked.

"I'm not? Of course I am! I helped create this game!"

"You only helped. You're no mastermind." Monokuma waved his paw.

"B-but… I was promised to meet her if I complied! It was all for her!" Tsumugi cried out.

"Who are you talking about?" Kirumi questioned.

"It's a secret. Besides times up! The voting is complete!"

The screens displayed a roulette wheel of their faces and fell upon a blue haired girl with glasses icon. Confetti appeared and displayed the word GUILTY.

"You guys are correct! The murderer of Kaede Akamatsu was none other than Tsumugi Shirogane!" Monokuma said gleefully.

"No…." Tsumugi fell to her knees.

"Tsumugi…. You really…" Tenko gasped.

"The sign says guilty, I think that's self-explanatory." Ryouma closed his eyes.

"And for a lowly, sick reason too!" Kaito pointed.

"And I've got a good one for the Ultimate Cosplayer! Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiiiiittttt'sssss PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma laughed.

"Wait! You can't do this to me! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tsumugi screamed.

Shuichi watched in silent fury as a collar hooked around her neck and pulled her out of the courtroom.

GAME OVER

TSUMUGI SHIROGANE HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY

COMMENCING PUNISHIMENT:

Catwalk of Cosplays

Tsumugi was pulled into a backstage room. She was dressed up as an anime character from a shounen series. The collar pulled her in, forcing her to catwalk and model for the cheering fake audience. Then she was pulled back in and dressed up as a different character. The process was repeated a few times and seemed innocent. But gradually each outfit consisted of more dangerous features like spiked collars, anklets, and piercings. She had to walk with all this on high heels. Each time gradually got worse. While she coughed out blood her final cosplay was a soldier from a shooter game. The audience suddenly got up, wearing her character enemy's uniform. They aimed their guns at her. Tsumugi looked shocked at the sudden threat. Before she could run or think bullets repeatedly shot her till her body was mangled with holes and she finally collapsed. All that was left was a chewed up looking corpse surrounded by a large pool of blood.

Everyone watched in horror at what transpired.

"W-why…." Tenko barely made out.

"What kind of sick shit is this?" Kaito didn't realize he was crying.

"I need a minute…" Kirumi walked off to the corner.

"Atua, May Tsumugi rest and be a better soul in the next life."

"Nyeh…" Himiko felt like vomiting again.

Kokichi stared blankly.

Kiyo looked down.

Maki's mouth twitched.

Ryouma turned away.

Gonta pulled his hair while crying.

If robots could cry, Kiibo certainly would have.

"Is this what we get for doing away some asshole?" Miu felt anger boiling in her.

"That was a bit excessive, but I don't really feel sorry for her. If anything, we should be mourning Kaede. She was kind and strong. She didn't deserve to be sacrificed for sick entertainment." Rantaro spoke up.

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, alright, everyone back to your rooms. Its past nighttime already!" Monokuma said.

"Fuck, this bear has no sympathy whatsoever." Kaito sighed.

"What did you expect?" Maki said.

"Agreed. He's obviously enjoying this." Ryouma stated.

"Wait, so is there actually another mastermind?" Rantaro asked.

"That's right! That means this game is faaaar from over!" The bear laughed.

"And don't try to pull a Kaede. The mastermind might not even be here." He added which earned a few scowls from the students.

"What? How the fuck are we supposed to catch this asshole?" Kaito raised his fist.

"You don't. The game continues! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Monokuma laughed.

"Shit…" the astronaut muttered.

"Instead of trying to find the mastermind, how 'bout watching your own backs? Who knows whose gonna be the next victim! Puhuhuhu…." Monokuma giggled.

"Fuck this shit! We aint killin nobody!" Kaito retorted.

"I've seen enough killing in my life already." Ryouma reflected.

"We'll live no matter what!" Tenko fought.

"Psssh. How boring." The bear disappeared.

"That coward!" Kaito growled.

"It's too late. He's gone." Ryouma sighed.

"He does not care to deal with us at this moment." Kiyo said.

"Let's just head back for now. We need rest and there's nothing we can do for now." Kirumi folded her hands. The students silently complied and walked back to the dorms.

"Where are you going, Shuichi?" Kaito asked the boy who had been silent since the trial ended.

"Nowhere." Shuichi said quickly and walked into the academy instead.

Shuichi checked to see if that room was open. It was, and he walked in.

He saw a blackboard, shelves piled with music notes and CDs. There was grand piano in the center. Shuichi walked over to the shelf and found Claire de Lune. He played it on the CD player in the corner. A soft, calming melody filled the room. Shuichi stood there, listening.

"It's a lovely tune, isn't it?" A girl's voice said. Her fingers danced along the keys gracefully.

"…"

"Don't be so gloomy, I'm proud of you." Her voice was as lighthearted as ever.

"But now it's up to you Shuichi. Guide everyone, no matter what. I know you can do it."

"I don't know if I can." Shuichi clenched his fists. "No. I'll do it. I know I can. For you and everyone else. I'll get us all out of here. I promise."

"Of course, I trust you with all my heart. I'm leaving everything up to you Shuichi. Goodbye." She whispered before disappearing.

After standing there for a while, he smiled and placed his hat on the piano.

From outside the lab, a smile of content plastered on a boy's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know, this first trial was kinda obvious. I'm not the best at murder mysteries, heck I got the nail polish idea from an Ace Attorney game though I made the situation different, obviously. But I'll definitely try my best!
> 
> It was so satisfying to kill Tsumugi off since I hated her guts especially after she killed Rantaro and framed Kaede in the games. Hope you enjoyed that execution :D
> 
> Also if you noticed I didn't include the Monokubs in my story. I found them pointless plus its extra dialogue to write. I just want to stick to Monokuma and the students. Anyways, see you all soon!


	9. Chapter 9

Shuichi groaned at the morning announcement. Waking up early was the least of his concerns after what transpired last night.

“Ding, dong”

Groaning, Shuichi got up and answered to find a fidgety astronaut at his door.

“Hey Shuichi, morning’,” Kaito tried to smile.

“Hey Kaito,”

“Um, do you wanna get breakfast together?”

“Sure, it can’t hurt to eat.” The detective sighed.

“Good, you were uh, looking pretty pale last night so I was kinda worried about ya.” Kaito reluctantly brought up.

Shuichi blinked hard then looked at his friend.

“I’m fine, Kaito, thanks.”

“Whew, okay. Well let’s go.” Kaito sighed in relief.

They walked in silence to the cafeteria. They entered to see everyone else there.

“Mornin. Everyone!” Kaito smiled. Most of the students looked down.

“Aw c’mon guys! This isn’t the time to be upset! Let’s focus on working together and getting out of this hellhole!”

“Ah, I just can’t fathom all this.” Kiibo couldn’t hide his guilt.

“I-I tried to do my morning run but…” Tenko toyed with her fingers.

“Nyeh, I still haven’t recharged my healing magic.” The little magician pouted.

“Man, I’m sick of this depressing bullshit! I can’t work on my inventions like this!” Miu slumped in the dining chair.

“This isn’t much different than my prison days.” Ryouma sighed.

“Hey, let’s not let this get to us. I know what we endured was painful, but Kaito’s right. We’ll mourn when this is all over. Until then let’s set our differences aside and work together.” Shuichi spoke up.

Everyone looked at the usually quiet boy in shock.

“Y-yeah! Couldn’t have said it better myself Shuichi!” Kaito patted his back.

“Yeah! I’ll use my Neo-Akido to protect the rest of the girls!”

“And Gonta will be protector of boys!”  


“We shouldn’t let our hearts sink forever.” Kiyo said.

“Atua has graced us with a new day.”

“I’ll continue making potions, then.”  


“No point in sulking once you’ve seen it all.” Ryouma said.

“Alright! Time for me to break a sweat all over this gorgeous body! Don’t get any weird fantasies, boys!” Miu stood up.

“Whatever. Wasn’t mourning in the first place.” Maki muttered.

Rantaro smiled at his classmates’ words but kept his eyes on Shuichi. Soon everyone did the same.

“What is it?” Shuichi asked when he noticed.

“Shuichi no wear hat?” Gonta asked.

“Wow I didn’t even notice.” Kaito said.

“You finally got rid of that emo hat! Is it cuz Kae-OW” Kokichi was slapped on the head by both Kaito and Tenko.

“Shut it you male!” Tenko whispered through clenched teeth.

“Way to be insensitive asshole.” Kaito added.

“Um yeah, it got in the way, so I won’t wear it anymore.” Shuichi responded.

Rantaro smiled.

“I like it. I think you’re a handsome boy without your hat.” Angie complimented.

“Thanks,”

“Enough of this gibberish! Mom made breakfast!” Kokichi’s eyes sparkled.

“…Mom?” Kiibo looked confused.

“Kirumi! Be Gonta’s mom too!”

Kirumi smiled. “I just wish to offer good service, as my duty suggests. I’ve made buttermilk pancakes, omelettes, and fruit. If you prefer Japanese cuisine I’ve prepared onigiri and miso soup with pickled vegetables.”

“You really go all out. Its impressive after everything that’s happened.” Shuichi told her.

“As a maid, I can’t let personal feelings get in the way of my work. Please, enjoy.” The maid bowed.

“Well let’s have breakfast, I’m starving!” Kaito said.

“I agree. I’m quite famished.” Kiyo said.

Everyone sat down and started eating. Miu took out a hunk of metal and started working on it. Himiko reluctantly listened to Tenko tell her how cute she looked while eating. Kirumi started washing dishes of the finished plates while Kiyo offered to help. Kaito decided to discuss a strategy plan with the rest of the group.

“Alright, so escape isn’t likely for now. And I hell don’t wanna continue this fucking game to get out.” He started.

“Well he isn’t gonna let us off that easy. He wants this to continue.” Ryouma lowered his hat.

“Knowing that, we should probably forget trying to escape for now. There’s another major issue we barely touched.” Shuichi scratched his chin.  


“And what would that be?” Maki asked.

“How did we get here in the first place?”

Everyone fell silent. Even Miu who was working on her invention lifted her goggles to look over.

“Glad you asked!” A high pitched voiced made everyone jump.

“AH! What the hell?” Kaito nearly fell back from his seat.

Shuichi choked on his food and had to be patted hard by Rantaro.

“Nyah!” Himiko yelped.

“Hey, you stupid bear! You scared her!” Tenko shouted while rubbing the magician’s back.

“You’re the last thing I need to see right now.” Maki glared.

“How mean! And after I took precious time out of my busy day to bring you suckers these!” He set down a few keys and what looked like a big flashlight.

“What the hell are these for?” Kaito looked at them suspiciously.

“They’re keys to your labs!”

“What about this light?” Kiyo asked.

“Well, you want to find out how you got here in the first place, right? Then I suggest you punks give it a shot!” Monokuma looked away innocently.

“Our memories are in flashlight?” Gonta asked.

“Are you fucking with us?” Miu growled.

“Yeah this better not be a prank, asshole!” Kaito added.

“Atua will not forgive you if you lie.”

“Hey, its up to you if you wanna believe it or not. I’m not responsible for any crying or temper tantrums ok? Puhuhuhuhu!” He laughed before disappearing.

“That guy pisses me off...” Kaito muttered.

“Typical degenerate male!” 

“Well what are we gonna do about these?” Kokichi picked up one of the keys.

“Some of our labs have opened up. We should probably go see.” Kirumi said.

“What about the Flashback light?” Ryouma nodded towards the strange object.

“Maybe we should put it aside for now and decide later. Right now, I’m sure everyone’s mind’s in shambles and this wouldn’t help much.” Rantaro suggested.

Everyone looked at the mysterious boy but agreed nonetheless.

“Alright, whose lab should we explore first?” Kaito spoke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the slightly boring chapter. This is just the stairwell for upcoming character development, so look forward to more!


	10. Chapter 10

"I think we should split up. We can explore the area quickly and notify each other if anything." Kirumi suggested.

"Alright, so whose going with who?" Kaito asked.

"This is pointless. I'm going back to my room." Maki turned and walked away.

"Hey wait!" Kaito shouted after her.

"Let's not force her. She's obviously not a team player." Ryouma said.

"Oh well! I'm gonna check out Himiko's lab! I wanna see all the cool magic stuff!"

"Must you always hover over me," Himiko sighed at the taller girl.

"Atua wishes to see if this magical stuff is stronger than his power." Angie said and walked out with them.

"Uh, so whose left?" Kaito asked.

"I believe this is the key to my lab." Kirumi picked up one.

"I like Mom, but her lab might be boring. I'll check out the magic lab!" Kokichi's eyes sparkled and ran after the girls.

"I'll accompany you to your lab. I'm interested to see a maid's lab is like." Kiyo said to Kirumi.

"I agree, I've studied people but never knew one who found chores fun." Kiibo agreed.

She nodded, and they walked out.

"This look like Gonta lab key! Anyone want to come?"

Everyone seemed hesitant at the thought of going to a room full of bugs. Gonta's face fell.

"I'll go, I used to go bug catching with my little sister." Rantaro volunteered.

"Gonta so happy! Rantaro must not be bad person to like bugs!" Gonta beamed.

"Wanna come Shuichi?" Rantaro asked.

"Actually, we want to explore the tennis court!" Kaito pulled Shuichi and a very confused Ryouma away.

"Eh, what the heck. I'd rather that than some nasty bugs." Miu shrugged and followed them out.

* * *

"Eh? This is ordinary magic tools." Angie said as she looked around in Himiko's lab. There was a tank with an escape hatch, throwing knives, handcuffs, and the magic boxes used for sawing.

"Its not tools its magic!"

"Awww how boring! I wanted to see a real magic wand!" Kokichi whined.

"Why are you here you degenerate! And don't deny Himiko's magic!" Tenko said.

"Meh this sucks I'm leaving." The disappointed dictator walked out.

"My mom said magic is real," Himiko said in a low voice.

"Really? My parents would never believe that!" Tenko said.

"Atua made a world full of all possibilities."

"I guess. She told me that if everyone believed in magic, then we'd all be happy. But everyone here is so serious all the time." Himiko pouted.

"Not all of us are downers! Kaito is a degenerate male but he's always trying to lift our spirits! And I do my best to keep my fighting spirits up! Its what Master told me."

"I guess," The little redhead mumbled. "But that's why I started practicing magic. To make people happy. But maybe my power has declined. No one wants to see magic now, they just wanna escape. Even I don't feel like doing magic these days."

Tenko stared at her.

"You and I are so alike Himiko."

"What?"

"I followed my Master's words and decided to practice Akido to strengthen my spirit. I use it to protect girls from degenerates. I'm even trained to mend their broken hearts after break ups! And it works. We both aim to make others smile!"

"I like to teach everyone about Atua. Finding peace in god often brought smiles to my people. That's why they are always happy." Angie added.

"We fight with what we believe in! Screw this killing game! We don't need to kill people if we're alike. It makes more sense to work together with all of our strengths!" Tenko did her signature fighting stance.

Himiko's eyes brightened. They stood in silence.

"Hey I know! How about we have a magic show!"

"What?" Himiko looked up in surprise.

"You're right Himiko! People need to stop sulking and fight! And a good magic show will definitely pump their spirits up!"

"Really?"

"This sounds interesting. Let's prepare everything first." Angie suggested.

"And maybe tell them about it later, not now since everyone is worried about that stupid light. But we'll definitely make it happen, I promise Himiko!" Tenko said.

The little magician smiled.

* * *

"Interesting," Kiyo looked around.

"I know its not much, but this is truly what I enjoy doing." Kirumi said proudly.

"I've studied human nature with my creator. It's pretty rare for humans to enjoy cleaning. Usually they complain about it, especially with laundry." Kiibo stated.

"I have studied people as well. But no culture is more beautiful than a woman who'd put others needs before hers." Kiyo said.

"It is my duty to serve others. For me, nothing is more fun."

"So, you'd just do anything others ask of you?" Kiibo asked.

"I do have my limits. I refuse to do away with someone if they've done nothing wrong. I also decline any sexual services. While I am a maid, I'm not a slave."

"I see. A selfless but defiant woman." Kiyo approved.

"So this is where you do their laundry, huh? Can you remove all stains?" The teenage robot walked over to the laundry and drying machines.

"Yes. As the ultimate maid, I've learned all tricks to cleaning perfectly. Not just for clothes but for a whole household."

"Amazing! I always saw Professor Idabashi struggling to clean grease from his lab coats."

"For grease stains, use chalk, baby powder or corn starch. Let it soak then rinse with cold water. There are various other methods as well."

"I better save this into my memory and tell Professor about this."  
"Who is this Professor you speak of?" Kirumi asked.

"Oh, he's my creator. He wanted to create the perfect AI while raising it as a real child." The robot answered with a hint of sadness.

"This man sounds truly beautiful at heart." The tall male said.

"He's like a father to me. He must be worried sick about his only child, so I must get out alive. To let him know I'm alright."

"I too have a beloved I must get back to. She must be longing for her little brother's return."

"You have a sister?" Kiibo asked.

"Yes. She's my only family."

"I guess we're in the same boat." The robot smiled.

"We do have that in common, yes. I'd do anything to see my dear sister again."

Kirumi raised her eyebrow slightly.

"What about you Kirumi?" The robot turned to her.

Kirumi thought. "Well, I'd say I have a very big family waiting. I wish to leave her and serve them once more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter is not well written, I know. But I needed to get one out there. I'm finally done with finals and now I can start working on my story again!
> 
> Also the cleaning tip Kirumi uses I looked up on Wikihow so idk how accurate it is :P


	11. Chapter 11

Rantaro never seen such a colorful room.

It had some trees and real grass growing. There were many displays of all kinds of bugs, some he's never seen. Some tanks were kept as habitat for the bugs.

"Gonta feels right at home,"

"Amazing. I didn't know bugs can come in these colors." Rantaro looked over at a beetle display.

"Bugs are pretty! People think bugs gross, but they good for environment."

"Its okay, like I mentioned I went bug catching with my little sisters before, so I'm used to them. They aren't that bad."

"Ah, Rantaro has sisters. Gonta… jealous,"

"Why?"

"Gonta human family no like Gonta much…"

"Human family? What do you mean?" Rantaro turned from the bug display to fully face the gentle giant.

"Oh, uh, Gonta got lost in woods one day, raised by uh, wolf family for ten years. Gonta learned about insects and wildlife. Gonta very grateful to wolves, but human family no like them. Human family think Gonta too wild. They want Gonta to be more…. Civil. That's why Gonta aim to be true gentlemen!"

Rantaro was silent for a moment, then laughed.

"What is it? Gonta say something funny?"

"Gonta, you already are a gentleman. More than anyone I know. I wish my father was like you..." Rantaro muttered the last statement.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing. But you're a real man, Gonta. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone. I would've preferred my non-human family if my blood ones didn't accept me."

"Really? But… Gonta family rich and need to keep family name…"

"That's an even more reason for your freedom, Gonta. Don't let yourself be bound by strict rules. Your wolf family and your love for bugs should come first. Because its most important to you. I defy anyone if it meant protecting my sisters."

The tall bug lover was shocked to hear such words. No one has ever told to make his own decisions, except his wild family.

"Gonta will do his best!" He finally said.

"That's the spirit big guy! Now come one, tell me about these little guys over here!" Rantaro pointed to the beetles he was looking at earlier.

* * *

"Wow man! A whole tennis court!" Kaito said.

"It's not that impressive. It's just for practice." Ryouma said unimpressed.

"What does this baby do?" Miu drooled over at a machine throwing tennis balls.

"Exactly what its doing. If you don't have someone to practice with, this machine does just that. You can change the speed too."

"Woah, a machine skilled in handling balls! I hope it can teach me some of its techniques!" The perverted inventor said. Ryouma scowled.

"Uh, so do you still know how to play Ryouma?" Shuichi decided to change the subject.

"A man can't forget the details of his true love. But it doesn't matter if I do, for that man is no more."

"Oh, c'mon man, quit being depressed all the time! Show us how to play!" Kaito asked excitedly.

"I'd rather not. You can play amongst yourselves."

"But you're the expert! Besides you know you still love it deep down!"

Ryouma stared at the overly eager astronaut. Even the detective looked at him expectantly.

The ex-con sighed. "Fine, but only one game."

"Alright! That's the spirit!" Kaito gave a thumbs up.

"I've never been coached before, was never really an athlete." Shuichi said and picked up a racket.

"It can't be that hard, you're just hitting the ball back and forth right?" Kaito said.

"Tennis is much more complex than it looks. You've seen professionals play it so of course it looks easy."

"What do you mean?" Shuichi asked.

"It isn't just about hitting the ball back and forth. Its about precision and footwork. You need to train yourself to have a keen eye. And your body must be in the right condition to keep up with that. It takes years of practice."

"We're still willing to try! Right Shuichi?"

"Uh, yeah sure."

Ryouma looked at them. "Alright, here we go."

Meanwhile, Miu was still fondling over the machine.

* * *

A little while later everyone had gathered back in the dining hall. No one said a word at first.

"Uh, so do you guys wanna try this thing?" Kaito spoke up.

"If it lies to Himiko, I'll smash it right after!" Tenko said.

"I don't even care." Himiko said.

"What do we have to lose? If its true, it can help us figure out how we got here. If not, then it let's keep it at the back of our heads." Shuichi suggested.

"Why would we do that if it's a lie?" Kiyo asked.

"Because it can help us figure out why someone would want to lie to us. And how far they'd go."

"Not a bad idea, but is everyone alright with this?" Rantaro asked.

"Whatever. Let's get this over with." Maki sighed.

"I know I certainly have nothing to lose." Ryouma said.

"I'm prepared for anything!" Tenko shouted.

"Yeah bring it on!" Kaito followed.

"Very well. Proceed." Kiyo said.

"I'll try to process it into my memory. If I don't like it I can always delete it."

"Only Atua knows the truth."

"Gonta not sure, but gentlemen take risks!"

"Oooooh this is gonna be soooo exciting!" Kokichi glistened.

"Why the hell are you so pumped?" Kaito shot.

"Hey, I wanna learn the truth. If you just wanna live here forever be my guest."

"Of course I wanna get out! This light might be the key!"

"Then, if everyone wishes, let us proceed." Kirumi said.

Shuichi faced the flashlight towards everyone. When he joined, he hit the button.

The light was blinding at first. Then, an image, or a movie played into their heads.

-Flashback-

A large group of rioters with baseball bats and other weapons were shouting. The person's memories was trying to hide. They could make a dash for the alley across the street since the manhole led to the underground. Just as they stepped out of their hiding spot, one rioter shouted.

"Hey! There's one! Get em!"

The person immediately started running. They couldn't escape to the manhole as it would give away their only hideout. They ran and ran through the damaged, empty city.

How long will this continue? When will it end? When will we be free? We only wanted to go to a good school!

-Flashback end-

Half of the students fell to their knees. Others were holding their heads.

"What the hell was that?" Kaito said.

"I'm not sure….I remember running." Kirumi was out of breath.

"It felt so real…" Himiko said.

"If those degenerates were after Himiko! I'll fight them all!"

"Could that have been the Ultimate Hunt?" Shuichi looked over at Rantaro.

"I think so. It fit the description." He responded.

"That was terrifying! They were gonna ravage my gorgeous body!" Miu covered her chest.

"I highly doubt that was the reason." Ryouma shook his head.

"Wait, my memory found a connection!" Kiibo said.

"What's the hunk of know it all have to say?" Kokichi said.

"Just hear me out! Remember when the person running said they only wanted to go to a good school?"

"And?" Ryouma said.

"Well, since we are all Ultimates, I believe that this school has something to do with it."

"I think there is one school that was known for that." Shuichi agreed.

"Correct! It was called Hope's Peak Academy!" the robot snapped his fingers.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hopes…Peak?" Himiko tapped her chin.

"Yeah, it's a private school sanctioned by the government. Unlike other high schools there's no entrance exam; you'd have to be recruited." The robot explained.

"By what standards?" Kiyo asked.

"Talent. Hence our titles, "Ultimates".

"I just remembered! My Uncle mentioned this school. He was talking about someone who was recruited as Ultimate Detective like myself." Shuichi scratched his ear.

"There's another Ultimate Detective?" Gonta asked.

"Considering how big that school was, I wouldn't be surprised if there were multiple students with the same talent." Kibo said.

"Gonta parents happy for me to carry out family name in good school!" The tall man remembered.

"Yeah! Master was so proud when I was scouted!" Tenko said.

"There should've been an owl sending me letters to attend a wizard's school…" The magician pouted.

"I worked hard to become an astronaut! Hope's Peak had my back and represented me!" Kaito gave a thumbs up.

"Sounds like some prestige for snooty rich kids." Miu said.

"It's not like we chose to go there. I certainly didn't." Ryouma twirled his candy cigarette.

"My studies of Anthropology paid off." Kiyo smiled under his mask.

"I don't care for my title. I only attended for the greater good of others." Kirumi said.

"So from what we all remember…we were scouted by this government elite school because we were extremely talented?" Kaito scratched his head.

"That's what we just said…" Maki sighed.

"That's the best conclusion my data came up with." Kibo frowned.

"An advanced AI can't come up with a clear, logical answer. How disappointing." Kokichi said.

"Quit being robophobic! Its not like any of us can make much sense of our lost memories at the moment."

"He's right. We don't have enough information to come up with any concrete conclusions. Let's just rest until he gives us the next flashback light." Rantaro said.

"And how do you know he will?" Maki lowered her eyebrows.

"Why just give us one to begin with? It'd be entertaining for him if we slowly regain our memories and watch our reactions. Sickening as it is." The green haired male sighed and crossed his arms.

"This is getting too stressful." Kirumi patted her forehead with a handkerchief.

"Remembering is so much work…" Himiko said.

"Atua has given us all with a crucial part of our blessed lives." Angie smiled.

"Kudos to your positivity…" Tenko muttered.

When they all left the dining hall, Shuichi caught up with Rantaro.

"Hey Rantaro,"

"Hey, Shuichi. Crazy stuff back there, huh? Can you believe we were Hopes Peak students?" The green haired male smiled.

"Yeah, its supposed to feel like an honor. But I don't think I'm talented enough to go there so its pretty shocking." Shuichi remembered what he said earlier.

"Don't say that Shuichi. I think you're very talented."  
"Really?"

"You helped solve a case with little evidence in the last trial. That says a lot."

"I guess…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch on a sensitive topic? Sorry I was only trying to help." He frowned.

"No, don't worry Rantaro. But I came to you to ask, did the flashback light help you remember anything? Like your talent?" Shuichi asked in a low voice.

The taller male blinked. "No, unfortunately."

"But you definitely had one. Otherwise why would an elite school recruit you?"

"Maybe I wasn't recruited."

"What?"

"Yeah. Maybe I'm just a random student from a random school who got trapped with a bunch of elites like you guys." He laughed dryly.

"No, that wouldn't make sense. This whole situation seems too perfectly planned out. The rules, the setting, our talents, this whole killing game. It would be ridiculous if they made a simple mistake of recruiting a random student."

"I guess you're right Mr. Detective. If you weren't so convincing with your skills I'd say you're just trying to cheer me up." Rantaro tilted his head and smiled.

"What? I mean, yeah I am, kinda. But I honestly doubt they'd make that mistake." Shuichi blushed.

"I know, I'm teasing Shuichi. But thank you. I know you'll help us get though this." Rantaro patted his shoulder and walked away.

"Ah…" Shuichi couldn't barely come up with the right words before Rantaro was too far ahead.

Most of the students spend the day taking a walk around the campus or sitting somewhere to think things through. Shuichi spent the whole day in bed thinking about everything that transpired. Before he realized how late it was, he heard a knock.

"Kaito? Whats up." Shuichi was a bit surprised.

"Hey man! Wanna come out with me for a bit?"

"Uh, sure."

Kaito led him to the grassy area just outside their dorms.

"So uh, why'd you bring me here this late?" The shy boy asked.

"To train!"

"To what?"

"Training, my man! Let's do some exercises!" Kaito took off his jacket and began a sit up position.

"Wait what for?"

"Well we all gotta work together against the mastermind! And if we train our bodies we're more likely to be able to defend ourselves!"

"Well you have a point but…"

"C'mon Shuichi! This'll strengthen our bodies and minds! We can't let the bastard watch us break! We gotta show that we're stronger than that!"

Shuichi thought for a moment. "A-Alright!" He said and sat down next to the astronaut.

"So… many should we do?"

"As many as we can! But save our energy for push ups too!"

"Wait what?"

Before he could get an answer, Kaito was already counting. Sighing, Shuichi started.

By the time they were done, both were panting for a few minutes.

"So…feel any better?" Kaito asked while looking at the sky.

"Ugh… My body is gonna be sore…" Shuichi winced as he tried getting up.

"You'll get used to it. We had to go through intense training to become astronauts."

"Sounds exhausting. I was never an athlete myself, just a bookworm."

"Well that's gonna change!"

"I hope so." Shuichi said. Then he remembered something earlier.

"Hey Kaito, do you have something against Gonta?"

"What?" Kaito was taken aback.  
"Or bugs?"

"What are you talking about? Sure, I can't stand bugs, but I don't have anything against the guy. He's a real man! I wish I can hold my temper and be forgiving like him. If anything, I admire him!"

"Oh." Shuichi's eyebrows knitted together. "Then, what about earlier? When we were going to check out the labs, you suddenly pulled me away when I was gonna volunteer to go see Gonta's. I think even Ryouma noticed."

Kaito blinked a few times before remembering. "Oh! Uh, heh well its not so much Gonta I have a problem with."  
"Then what?" The confused detective asked.

The astronaut looked around before whispering to Shuichi.

"Its that pretty boy, uh, what's his face…"

"You mean Rantaro?" Shuichi suddenly remembered who went with Gonta.

"Yeah! That guy is suspicious. He can't even remember his own talent!"

"Well yeah, but all of us have lost our memories in some way."  
"Its not just that, he always has his eyes on you! That creep follows you everywhere!" Kaito said, flustered.

Shuichi laughed.

"What's so funny? I'm serious!"

"I know but, Kaito, don't you always follow me around?"

"What? Hey man, I'm just looking out for ya. I'm probably the least suspicious guy you know!" The astronaut said with a confident smile.

"Thanks for looking out for me Kaito, but I'll be fine."

"Still, watch your back, man. I don't trust him. I feel like he's hiding something. Besides, that green hair just screams villain!"

Shuichi laughed again. "I doubt hair color plays a part, but don't villains usually have goatees like yours, Kaito?"

"W-what? Hey I already said I'm the least suspicious guy out there! And my goatee polishes my heroic astronaut look!"

"What does that even mean?" The detective couldn't stop laughing.

"Whatever man!" Kaito blushed. "But let's continue our training again tomorrow night!"

"Tomorrow?"  
"Yup! Tomorrow, the day after, and the next day after that!"  
"So every day?" Shuichi was not looking forward to this.

"Yeah man, we can't let ourselves get rusty! We'll train hard every day! Never let this strength slip from your fingers!"

Shuichi sighed. "Alright, its settled. See you tomorrow night?" He said with slight regret.

"Tomorrow. See you then!" Kaito saluted with two fingers.

Shuichi felt happier than what felt like ages. He hadn't had a good laugh in a while. But one thing Kaito said kept lingering in his mind.

Rantaro was definitely hiding something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's training begins! I could use a workout buddy irl, its good motivation to exercise :P
> 
> And Hope's Peak Academy? What could've transpired? Stay tuned for more!


	13. Chapter 13

After breakfast, Tenko and Angie went to Himiko's lab.

"So, I was thinking we do the underwater trick for the show."

"Wow! Himiko are you a little mermaid?" asked a sparkly-eyed Tenko.

"I'm not little. It's real magic." The redhead pouted.

"Oooooh look at these piranhas! They look just like the ones near my island!" Angie tilted her head to look around the tank.

"What kind of island were you living on?!" Tenko cringed.

"Only the island of Atua himself." Angie folded her hands in prayer mode.

"Uh, so anyway we gotta set up the stage and everything. Let's get some of the guys to help move the equipment." Himiko suggested.

"No way! I can do it all myself! My Neo-Akido isn't just for self-defense, ya know!" Tenko said with confidence.

"Are ya sure? We could use some of the guys' help. A man's strength is a gift from Atua."

"I don't care what he says, I'll do this myself! I wanna help Himiko make others happy!"

Himiko bit her lip upon those words but said nothing.

While they were decorating, Himiko kept glancing over at Tenko who hummed cheerfully to herself.

"Why are you so chipper?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, its just a magic show." She twirled her hair.

"C'mon Himiko! Be more excited! Everyone is gonna see your magic for the first time, including me! I'm super pumped to see what kind of magic spells you can do!" Tenko gave her a big grin.

Himiko looked up from her hat curiously. "Really?"

"Yep! Everyone will be surprised, I promise."

Himiko looked at the martial artist then went back to working on the decorations.

Later that day, Shuichi was still sore from the other night. He was practically limping the whole day. He didn't know much about exercise, but he knew someone who sure did. He decided to go ask for their advice.

Tenko opened the door, surprised to find the small detective with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Shuichi? What do you want?"

"Hey Tenko, ow…"

"What the heck happened to you? You were walking funny all day."

"Uh yeah. So, uh, Tenko, do you have any advice for a non-athlete who wants to get into shape?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Where's this coming from?"

"Well uh," He was unsure if it was alright to tell her their secret training ritual.

"Spill the beans degenerate male!"

"Gyaah! You don't have to shout!" Shuichi flinched.

"Any male who dares disturb my free time deserves no less!"

"Hey, hey listen, it's just, I wanted to get in better shape. In case…I need to protect anyone."

Tenko stopped her rambling and stood there with a surprised expression.

"Something wrong?" Shuichi averted his eyes.

"Sure, I guess I can help a degenerate just this once."

"Huh? Really?" Shuichi beamed.

"Yeah. But don't expect me to go easy on you."

He gulped, wondering what he would be in for.

They went to the yard where Kaito trained him. Tenko inspected Shuichi up and down before saying,

"You didn't stretch first, did you?"

"Huh?"

"Always stretch beforehand! It's one of the most basic and important rules of exercise!"

"Ah, shit, yeah I forgot that." Shuichi rubbed his head.

"You males always forget things! This is why they say girls are smarter than boys!"

"What?"

"Ok first things first! We do some stretching exercises."

"Alright," It didn't sound too bad.

Boy was Shuichi wrong. Tenko was going to dislocate his arm if she bent it any further.

"Tenko! I'm not made of rubber!" Shuichi cried out.

"Put up with it! You wanna get stronger, don't you?"

"Ow! Yes, but injuring me will only delay that!" Shuichi protested.

Suddenly, Tenko stopped.

"Ugh," Shuichi took the moment to rub his sore arms. "Wait, what's wrong?"

"I'm helping you…" She said softly.

"Uh yeah? That's why I came."

"No… I'm helping a degenerate male get stronger!"

"Wait what?"

"I can't let that happen! The reason I learned aikido was to protect girls!"

"What?"

"You wanna get stronger cuz you have ulterior motives!"

"What the hell ar-"

"Just like every other male! You almost tricked me!"

"Tenko I'm-"

"WAAAHHH! I almost helped a male get stronger! Who knows what could've happened!"

"TENKO!" Shuichi finally managed to shout. The aikido master was taken aback.

"Whew, take a breath, will you? I don't have any ulterior motives. I really do want to protect everyone. I don't want anything bad to happen again."

Tenko just stared at first.

"Hmph, well uh, remember to stretch before exercise." She said hesitantly.

"I will."

She was about to walk away then quickly spun back around.

"And also, Angie and I will be hosting Himiko's magic show tomorrow at 10am."

"A magic show?"

"Y-yeah! You better be there! If you make Himiko sad I'll throw you and every degenerate male into oblivion! So spread the word!" She said quickly and walked away before Shuichi could even nod.

"What the hell just happened…" Shuichi rubbed his temples as he stood there dumbfounded.

A few meters away, a figure covered their mouth to prevent busting out into laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Omg so sorry for the long update. Had finals, work, and writer's block. No excuses, I know D'x but I have some ideas so expect a few chapters soon!


	14. Chapter 14

Later that night, Shuichi and Kaito met up for their second training routine.

"Hey Kaito, let's stretch before we do anything." Shuichi suggested.

"Great idea! I'd expect no less from the guy who almost lost an arm!" Kaito snickered.

"What?"

"Man you look like you were gonna cry!"

"What! I wasn't-How?" Shuichi blushed.

"I happened to be nearby when I heard you two. Holy crap that shit was hilarious! I Had to hold my breath so you guys wouldn't hear me!" Now it was Kaito's turn to laugh during their training session.

"Hey she's strong! I underestimated her skills. But she's right. We should stretch and take it easy. Especially me since I'm not athletic." Shuichi half smiled.

"Alright, alright, yeah I get it. But we're still doing this every day, ya hear?" Kaito winked and gave a thumbs up.

Shuichi sighed but smiled no less. "Yeah."

"Alright then, let's get started!" Kaito put his fists together.

"Wait, Kaito, aren't you worried?"

"Huh? About what?"

"Well, I didn't tell her the details but technically Tenko knows I'm training. Wasn't this supposed to be our secret?"

"Oh that. Nah man, it's cool. Besides I was having too good of a laugh to be angry."

"So you trust her?"

"She's a bit whacky, but I think Tenko is alright. At least, that's what I wanna believe." Kaito shrugged.

"Yeah." Shuichi looked down. "But c'mon, what the use in preparing ourselves when we can't even trust our new friends?" He fist bumped the taller man's arm.

Kaito looked at the smaller boy. "Woah now I'm the downer. I must get it from you." He punched the boy's shoulder lightly. Shuichi rolled his eyes.

"But that's what I like to hear. When I first met you, you would've never said something like that. You've grown already, Shuichi."

Shuichi looked down and closed his eyes. Then he looked up at Kaito and said,

"Well whaddya waiting for? Let's get started!"

The next morning, Shuichi, Kaito, Tenko, Gonta, Rantaro, Kiibo, Kirumi, and Miu gathered at the gym for Himiko's magic show.

"Are you guys ready to see Himiko's amazing magic?" Tenko beamed.

"Gonta want to see magic!"

"This goes against everything I learned about the limits of human species, but it makes me hungry for more!" Kiibo said.

"The art of magic bought to life, I'm curious of it's beauty." Kiyo said.

"I've finished all my duties this morning, I'll be happy to clean up afterwards."

"I haven't been to a magic show in a while. This will be interesting." Rantaro smiled.

Shuichi whispered to Tenko,

"How did you get Miu to come? Magic shows don't seem to suit her forte."

Tenko rolled her eyes. "I had to give a bit of the trick away by saying, 'it might make everyone…. Wet.'"

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "So, the trick involves water."

"Yeah but knowing Miu…ugh... she acts too much like a male hitting puberty."

"Where's Ryouma and Maki?" Kaito asked

"Oh uh, they didn't bother coming."

"Figures. Man those two need to lighten up!"

"Eh, Ryouma is a degenerate so who cares but Maki is kinda scary, so I didn't try convincing her." Tenko frowned.

"What about Kokichi?" Gonta asked.

"Screw that little freak! Who'd want him here anyway?" Kaito retorted.

Angie then opened the gym door. "You may all come in now!"

Everyone entered and saw a giant water tank next to a staircase. Curtains hung above the stage and so did various other decorations. Above it was a tank full of piranhas.

"What the hell!? Why are there piranhas here?" Kaito pointed up at the tank.

"Yep! It's part of the trick!" Angie said.

"What! I didn't know you were gonna add piranhas to the trick!" Tenko protested.

"It's ok, Atua is with her. She is safe." Angie responded calmly.

"I-its o-okay… I-I suggested it…" Himiko stuttered.

"Himiko no look so good." Gonta said with a worried expression.

"Yeah are you sure you're up for this?" Shuichi lowered his brows.

"I-its ok this is just my first time performing the whole trick."

"What?!" Kaito, Tenko and Shuichi shouted.

"Now on with the show!" Angie commenced.

"R-right!" Himiko tried to look confident and climbed on top of the tank.

"I'll believe in you Himiko…" Tenko held her hands together.

"I'm worried. She doesn't look like she's up for this." Kirumi said.

"Hmmm, how will she pull this off?" Kiyo questioned. Tenko shuddered at his words.

"Welcome everyone! Atua is with us today to watch the Amazing Himiko Magic Show! For this bit, Himiko Yumeno will dive into the tank and have sixty seconds to escape before I open the piranha tank!" Angie announced.

"Nyeh… n-now onward to the Amazing Himiko Magic show!" the little magician's legs were trembling, but she took a deep breath and dove into the tank.

"Now to close the curtain!" Angie closed the large curtains that hung beside the tank.

"Oh my god… will she be ok?" Tenko was fidgeting.

The seconds went by and everyone was getting nervous.

"Gonta can't take no more!" the large man climbed onto the stage and looked down in the tank.

"Hey the show isn't over yet!" Angie shouted.

"Huh? No one in here?" Gonta said.

"But wait where's Himiko?" Tenko asked. Just then the buzzer went off. The piranha tank opened, and they fell into tank.

"Time's up! I will now open the curtains!" Angie said and opened them and sure enough, only the piranhas were seen.

"Ta-da! My Underwater Escape trick!" Himiko popped out suddenly.

"Waaahhh! Himiko!" Tenko cried and hugged the smaller girl.

"Nyeh…"

"We were worried about you!" Kaito said.

"Gonta surprised you not in tank anymore!"

"It's part of my magic!" She said proudly.

Shuichi sighed in relief.

"You did a superb job. Well done, Himiko." Rantaro said.

"This is beyond my knowledge of humans!" Kiibo said.

"Erm, I can do more tricks if you guys want." She responded shyly.

"I'd love to! But…" Tenko hesitated.

"No more dangerous tricks, please." Shuichi smiled nervously.

"Yes it does not sit well with me." Kirumi looked reluctant.

"No, they're not dangerous. Not when you can do real magic!"

"I'd be delighted to see more." Kiyo said.

"One more trick can't hurt, can it?" Rantaro shrugged.

"How about I prepare appetizers for everyone?" Kirumi suggested.

"Yeah! Let's just spend the day here chilling and watching her tricks!" Kaito added.

"Gonta want to see more!"

"I'd love to see what else she can do!" Kibo said.

After everyone complied, Kirumi went to make food while Himiko prepared for her next trick. The group spent the whole day chatting amongst themselves and being amazed by Himiko's performance.

Eventually, they were joined by Ryouma who came with a beaming Kaito.

"Ryouma! Good to see you've joined us." Rantaro said.

"I guess a little leisure won't hurt anyone. Besides this one wouldn't stop ringing my doorbell until I answered" The depressed tennis player sighed.

"Can't always be moping, man." Kaito slapped his back making the shorter man scowl at him.

"Well since you're here, let's enjoy ourselves. We're all friends now." Shuichi smiled.

Ryouma stared at the detective.

"Call it whatever you want."

By nightfall, everyone was tired and headed to their dorms one by one. When Shuichi was ready to go, Kaito caught up with him.

"Hey man, we're still gonna do our training session later, ya hear?"

"Right, got it." Shuichi said reluctantly.

"Cool, I'm just gonna help them put away their stuff. Meet me there!"

Shuichi nodded and walked off.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

Shuichi turned to see Rantaro leaving as well.

"It was amazing. She deserves that title of the ultimate magician."

"Yeah it was better than the one I saw."

"I remember you saying that earlier."

"Yeah, my little sister was fascinated by magic shows. She always wanted to see them, but our parents didn't have time. So I took her instead. It became a tradition to see one with her."

Shuichi listened. He never spent real quality time with his parents either.

"You always talk about your sister. I can tell you're a good older brother." Shuichi said before he realized it.

Rantaro almost stopped in his tracks. For a moment, a shadow loomed over Rantaro's face. Being a skilled detective, Shuichi picked up on it. But Rantaro just looked up and blushed.

"Aw thanks, Shuichi,"

"Man… nothing is happening. Well, better bring out the big guns! Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma said while playing with a Kub Pad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Did I trick you? (pun not intended) No one died in this magic show. I know I've been dragging on until the next trial, but stay tuned for the next chapter.... puhuhuhu.


	15. Chapter 15

Shuichi woke up the next morning feeling sore once again, but happier. That changed the moment he saw an unusual touchpad on his desk. Curious, he went up to it. On the back, it said Kub Pad. He touched the screen, and it turned on.

In big colorful letters, it said:

'Rantaro Amami's Motive Video'

"Motive video?" Shuichi was confused.

"Alright! It's time for the motive video!" Monokuma's voice said.

"Who's the most important person in *your* life?" And now, without further ado, Rantaro Amami the Ultimate Survivor!"

"Ultimate Survivor…?" Shuichi repeated slowly.

"But that wasn't always the case! Before that, he held the title of 'Ultimate Adventurer' from traveling all around the world searching for his precious little sisters, how sweet. But unfortunately, the Ultimate Hunt started, and the world filled with despair once more! Rantaro had to survive the dangerous grasps of these baddies during this apocalypse, all while trying to find his sisters. He didn't, but we sure did! Take a look!"

The screen changed to a video of five young girls from around eight to thirteen years.

"Rantaro? If you're seeing this, we're alive! We miss you so much! We've looked everywhere for you!" Said the oldest one.

"They've told us you will come and rescue us!"

"Big Brother? Are you out there? Please come home…" Said the youngest.

"We're so scared…"

"I believe you're out there! Promise you'll come for us?"

"And whatever happened to these adorable girls? Are they still waiting for their big brother? That's a secret you'll have to find out! Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma appeared on the screen before disappearing.

Shuichi stood there dumbfounded.

"What the hell is this shit? I gotta tell Rantaro!" Shuichi dashed outside the dormitory only to crash into someone's arms.

"Shuichi?" He whispered.

"Rantaro?" Shuichi looked up in surprise. "Rantaro, I- "

"Guys!" They were interrupted by Kibo. "Come to the cafeteria quick!"

Both boys watched Kibo fast walked to the building before following in silence.

At the cafeteria, Kibo, Kirumi, Angie, Tenko and Kiyo were present.

"By the look on your face, I assume you received one as well, Shuichi." Kiyo noted.

"How did-"

"We all received one." Angie said.

"It's weird; it wasn't even my motive video!" Tenko said.

"I believe they are all mixed up." Kirumi said.

"That explains why it was someone else's video in my room." Rantaro said.

"Those were motive videos?" Maki asked.

"Yeah, wait you didn't watch yours?" Shuichi asked.

"I didn't bother, since I thought it was just something stupid." Maki closed her eyes in disinterest.

"I guess that was kinda a smart decision…" Tenko raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Kaito is getting the others so we can discuss this further." The humanoid robot said.

Soon, everyone gathered in the kitchen.

"I swear to god this better be important." Maki glowered at Kaito.

"I assume it's about the kub pads we received." Ryouma said.

"Yeah! Why did Gonta get Shuic-"

"Don't say it Gonta!" Kibo cut the tall man off.

"Ah, so you got my motive video." Shuichi smiled nervously.

"Why can't we just say it?" Himiko asked indifferently.

"Titless is right, aren't we gonna give it back anyway?" Miu waved an arm.

"Cuz that's exactly what Monokuma or whoever wants!" Kaito said.

"Yeah, these are the next motives for a murder, and that's the last thing we want." Kibo added.

"So if we don't see our videos, we'll have no motive." Rantaro said.

"Correct." The robot nodded.

"Awwww, you guys are soooo boring." A whiny voiced said.

"What the fuck, Kokichi?" Kaito shouted.

"You males and your creepy opinions!" Tenko added.

"Hey all I'm saying is, we should give each other's motive videos back."

"Why is that?" Kirumi asked.

"Cuuuuz it's more interesting that way. I mean, you already know each other's deepest secrets, so why not?" the purple haired grinned.

"We're not risking another murder!" Kibo retorted.

"We've already agreed to cooperate." Kiyo said.

"But it's better if we don't. Otherwise the despair will only hurt more." Kokichi pouted.

"That's enough, Kokichi. It's obvious Monokuma would want us to disagree and argue since its more entertaining for him." Shuichi glared at the shorter male.

"I don't know about that but suit yourselves." Kokichi smiled casually and left the dining room.

"Are we done? I could careless about the videos. I'm leaving." Maki sighed before leaving.

After a moment of silence, a deep voice spoke.

"I disagree."

Everyone turned to Ryouma.

"Hmm? On what?" Angie asked.

"On keeping each other's videos."

"Wait you want to see yours?" Kibo asked.

"They're videos of the most important people in our lives."

"So that's exactly why we shouldn't exchange them!" Kibo repeated.

"It's exactly why we should!" Ryouma argued back.

"Hey man, we agreed what's best. Don't go doing something stupid that'll get us all killed! Unlike your zombie ass, we all want to live!" Kaito pointed out.

"Hmph. So that's how you see me. How uncool." Ryouma lowered his hat.

"Hey Ryouma…" Shuichi said. But the short tennis player left the room before he could finish.

"So uh, now what?" Kaito asked awkwardly.

"Hey Himiko! Crazy morning, huh? You hungry?" Tenko asked.

The little girl just looked down.

"Y-you're not hungry?" Tenko pressed.

"Don't you see, Tenko? She's obviously not hungry." Angie pointed out.

"But she's a growing girl! She's still gotta eat! Kirumi! Whip us all some tripe hot pot!" Tenko ordered.

"Odd choice for breakfast." Rantaro teased.

"Shut it, male! You can never go wrong with tripe hot pot!" She protested.

"As you wish, Tenko." Kirumi nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, Shuichi sat on his bed, staring at the kub pad when he heard a knock. He opened it and almost jumped out of his skin.

"R-Rantaro!"

"Hey Shuichi. Can we talk?" The boy eyed him.

"Uh, sure. What's up?"

"You have my motive video, don't you?"

"What? How-"

"Earlier this morning when you ran into me. You looked anxious; like you had to tell me something before Kibo interrupted."

"Ah…" There was no hiding from this man. "Yeah, yeah I did."

"Its alright Shuichi. I figured if they were gonna use hostages, they'd take my sisters."

"To be honest, I'm not surprised either. You tend to mention them here and there."

"Yeah. They mean everything to me. I would do anything for them." Rantaro's voice deepened.

Shuichi gulped.

"Haha, but I wouldn't go that far." Rantaro waved it off. Shuichi smiled and looked down.

"What else did the motive video say?"

"Huh?" The detective looked up.

"C'mon, your worried face tells me you have more to say."

Damn, it's almost like there were two detectives here. Shuichi thought. He took a deep breath and looked at him dead in the eye.

"Rantaro, are you sure you forgot your ultimate talent?"

The green haired blinked and cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

Shuichi didn't buy it.

"You're implying something, Shuichi." Rantaro whispered.

"I'll call it that." The detective lowered his eyebrows.

"Well, Mr. Detective is right. I lied."

"Lied?"

"I didn't forget my ultimate talent. I'm the Ultimate Survivor."

Shuichi stared at him before saying, "Why hide it?"

"As the ultimate survivor, you learn not to trust anyone."

Shuichi nodded slowly.

"You seemed oddly interested in me despite that." Shuichi suddenly said, remembering what Kaito told him.

"Did I, now?"

"Well, yeah you were uh, kinda always staring in my direction. And you seemed like you wanted to get closer to me out of everyone here."

"Well, usually people trust detectives when there's a mystery to be solved, don't they Shuichi?" Rantaro smiled.

"Wait, are you…"

"Correct, Mr. Detective. I'll tell you what I know, if the motive pad hasn't told you enough already. As the Ultimate Survivor and Ultimate Detective, let's work together on figuring this whole ordeal out."

Shuichi thought for a moment.

"How do I know I can trust you? You could be the mastermind." Shuichi crossed his arms.

"Hmm? What's this Shuichi? I thought we were all supposed to be friends working together?" Rantaro smiled innocently, remembering what Shuichi said.

Shuichi's mouth twitched. "Heh, you got me there. But you can never be too careful."

"Says the one who meets up with Kaito alone at night."

"What?! You know about that?"

"I constantly search the school grounds in case I find clues I've missed. Call it survival instincts."

Shuichi smiled and shook his head.

"Alright, let's make it out of here, together." Shuichi looked up and smiled at his new partner.

"Deal."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Man, I made a slight mishap. Well, that can be fixed, Neeheehee…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Rantaro has like 12 sisters but that's too much work so I changed it to five XP  
> 


	16. Chapter 16

The kub pads weren't brought up for two days. By now, everyone has forgotten about them or just ignored it.

Shuichi was waiting outside for Kaito as usual when he saw the astronaut running towards him. He stopped in front of the detective panting and sweating.

"Kaito? What's wrong?"

"Shuichi…It's Gonta-He…he…."

"Huh? Gonta?"

Suddenly Shuichi felt an overwhelmingly menacing aura and notice Gonta walking towards them.

"RUN!" Kaito said and ran ahead.

"Hey Kaito!" Shuichi panicked and ran the opposite direction. He almost bumped into another person by the benches.

"Ryoma?"

"I see you barely dodged Gonta just now." He replied.

"Yeah, he went after Kaito. Wait how did you avoid him?"

"I used the Shukuchi method from my tennis days. It's kind of like a flash step. I'm still rusty, but Gonta still has got ways to go before he can catch me."

Shuichi thought he must've been an incredible tennis player to pull off such a move. Then again, its no wonder he earned the title of Ultimate Tennis Player.

"By the way, I'm sorry." The short athlete said.

"Huh? What for?" Shuichi asked, confused.

"For not valuing my life more. I know you all want to live. And I won't be selfish enough to get in the way of everyone's wishes." Ryoma closed his eyes.

"There's no need to apologize." Shuichi raised his hands.

"I only say these things cuz I'm jealous of you all."

"Huh? Jealous?"

"You all still have the strong desire to live. If I had it, I could work alongside everyone."

Shuichi frowned. "Hey, it's not entirely your fault. None of us had to go through what you did, as far as we remember."

Ryoma nodded. "You intrigue me the most, Shuichi."

"Me?"

"After what you went through, you somehow came back stronger. I wish I had a stronger mentality like that."

Shuichi looked down. "Ah, I wouldn't say that…I try, but not without the help of everyone here."

Ryoma stared at him. "What would you do if no one showed up on your motive video?"

Shuichi looked up. "Why are you asking such a thing?"

The short man twirled his candy cigarette. "I told you my story when we first introduced ourselves. Everyone I love is gone. I know nothing will show up in that video."

"Wait you don't know- "

"I do know..." Ryoma clenched his fist.

Shuichi took a deep breath before saying, "So what?"

"Excuse me?"

"So, you find another reason to live! Listen, I was a social outcast back home. I barely had friends. Hell, my own parents traveled a lot and didn't bother with me. My uncle took me in, but I don't even know if he's alive or not. If he isn't, then I technically have no one waiting for me either. But, I don't want to die… I have smiles to save." He said, reminiscing a conversation.

Before the tennis player could say anything, the detective was knocked out by a large angry insect lover.

"You really do intrigue me, Shuichi." Ryoma said after barely dodging his grasp.

Shuichi woke up to someone leaning a little too close.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" said a sarcastic voice.

"What the, Kokichi?" Shuichi blinked a few times.

"You're finally up. Welcome to hell!" He said.

"Hell? What the?" Shuichi looked around and saw a colorful room with insects. He noticed Himiko, Tenko, Kokichi, Kibo, Kaito, Kiyo, and Angie.

"We appear to be in Gonta's lab." Kiyo pointed out.

"This place gives me the chills." Kibo looked around frantically.

"I'm surprised hunks of metal can feel chills at all." Kokichi teased.

"Hey that's robophobic!"

"Nyeh…" Himiko was turning pale.

"These insects are scaring poor Himiko!" Tenko shuddered and grasped the smaller girl's shoulders.

"Man, I couldn't escape from Gonta." Kaito was still panting from running.

"We have bugs on my island too." Angie said nonchalantly.

"Where's Gonta?" Shuichi asked.

"Trying to recruit more victims. Which is good, cuz the more the merrier!" Kokichi said.

"What are you talking about?" Kibo asked.

"I made Gonta gather everyone here, so we can watch the motive videos?"

"You what?" Kaito shouted.

"Please explain." Kiyo said.

"He's so naïve! All I had to do was tell him you all hated bugs and he went on a rampage!" Kokichi laughed.

"That's terrible!" Kibo pointed out.

"You little prick!" Kaito shouted.

"That's not very nice…" Himiko said.

"I see you lied. A very ugly part of human nature." Kiyo shook his head

"Stop being a degenerate!" Tenko followed.

"So that's why he was so angry earlier." Shuichi scowled at the small dictator.

"Aw but then my evil mastermind plan won't woooorrrk!" Kokichi pouted.

Just then, Gonta came in.

"Where are the others?" Angie asked.

"Ah, well Maki scare Gonta. Kirumi have errands, and Gonta could not find Rantaro."

"What about Miu?" Kokichi put his arms behind his head.

"Ah, Gonta face got red, so he didn't take her." He blushed.

"Red?" Himiko asked.

"Uh, she used her, woman weapon. Anyway, we have enough for meet and greet!" Gonta tried changing the subject.

"Wait what's this meet and greet?" Kibo asked.

"He's gonna show you guys some bugs!" Kokichi cheered.

"What?" They all said.

"Yep! Well Gonta, I gotta get something to make this meet and greet more fun! You can start without me! Bye!" Kokichi said quickly before running out.

"What he just left?" Shuichi said.

"Okay! Let's begin!" Gonta smiled.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Himiko muttered.

"I-I'll protect you, Himiko!" the martial artist said despite her legs wobbling.

For Shuichi, and everyone, it was hell like Kokichi said. Everyone had a hard time avoiding Gonta's bugs. They covered their heads to avoid flying bugs while hopping around to avoid the ones crawling on the ground.

"I'm gonna barf…." Himiko crouched and clutched her hat.

"I'll chop away at these bugs!" Tenko swung her arms arounds.

"Eeeek they're gonna crawl into my hard drive!" Kibo cried out.

"Wow these guys are small compared to my island ones." Angie looked around.

"Just what kind of island did you live at?!" Kaito cried while jumping over a large beetle.

After about a half hour of screaming, jumping and ducking, Kokichi came back.

"Hey sorry guys! I had to listen to mom's lectures." He sighed.

"You mean Kirumi?" Gonta asked.

"Yup! Bad news is I had to run from her before I could grab all the kub pads."

"So, you didn't do anything to them?" Shuichi asked.

"Nah, I just happened to put it all back in the correct rooms."

"What?" Tenko yelped.

"What made you do such a thing?" Kiyo asked.

"Why? We agreed not to watch them!" Kibo shouted.

"I mean you wusses didn't wanna watch each other's dirty secrets, so I figured maybe you all prefer your own. Besides isn't it tempting to see your own motive video?"

"Kokichi…." Kaito growled.

Shuichi sighed, unable to take it anymore. "Gonta, Kokichi lied. We don't hate bugs, this was all part of his plan to get us to watch our motive videos."

"Wait what? Kokichi no like bugs?" Gonta's eyes widened.

"What? No, I loooove bugs!" Kokichi smiled.

"So then, you wouldn't mind staying behind and checking them out, since you missed most of the meet and greet!" Shuichi smiled.

"Yeah stay for more!" Gonta agreed.

"Wait, I- "Kokichi protested.

They all ran out while Gonta was distracted.

From outside, they heard Kokichi's screams in fear.

"Thanks for getting us out of that nightmare, Shuichi." Kaito patted him.

"Ugh, it makes me feel like I still have bugs crawling up my body…" Kibo shuddered.

"That drained my healing magic…" Himiko closed her eyes.

"T-those bugs were nothing! I was too busy protecting Himiko!"

"I've seen more beauty in life than those creatures." Kiyo sighed.

"Let us rest, now its nighttime. Atua will watch you sleep. They all went ahead except for Tenko, Kaito, and Shuichi.

"Aw, I can't go on my nightly jog." Tenko muttered to herself and followed the others.

When she walked further, Kaito turned to his friend.

"Hey Shuichi, that reminds me, let's go training!"

"What? Now?"

"C'mon, you're not backing out now, are ya? We agreed to train every night, no matter the circumstances!"

"Uh, I don't know about the last part, but sure." Shuichi sighed.

Shuichi and Kaito were stretching in silence for their nightly routine.

"So, you think this is ok?" Kaito asked.

"What is?"

"Not telling each other whose got whose video."

Shuichi blinked, remembering what he and Rantaro talked about before quickly answering.

"Uh yeah. None of us want another murder to happen, so this is what's best." Shuichi nodded.

The two remained silent for a few moments. It was broken by a sound of running footsteps.

"Degenerate males!"

Before Kaito and Shuichi could react, Shuichi suddenly felt himself being flipped on the ground.

"Waaah!" he cried out.

"Tenko what the hell?!" Kaito shouted at the akido master.

"Tell me what you males are up to at this hour!" She stood in her fighting stance.

Shuichi groaned and got up.

"Tenko, we were just gonna work out for a bit." He rubbed his back.

"Yeah it was my idea, actually. I thought it'd be a good idea to brace ourselves for anything Monokuma or the mastermind might throw at us."

"Ha! You think I'd believe a bunch of suspicious males after I caught them red handed?"

"Wait what are you doing out here?" Shuichi shot back.

"W-what! How dare you accuse a girl of suspicious activity! I was just going for my nightly run! A-anyway-are you two the masterminds or not?!"

"Well, the mastermind is obviously clever and had this whole situation planned out. A couple males aren't smart enough to come up with any master plan, now are they? They would've been caught in the first trial!" Shuichi pointed out.

Tenko thought for a moment.

"Oh you're right, Shuichi! For one, you're smart but too weak. And Kaito is an idiot, so it can't be him either!"

"Hey don't call me an idiot!"

"Well at least you remembered my advice and stretched first!" Tenko beamed at Shuichi.

"Yeah, it helped a lot. Thank Tenko."

"Alright, so first let's start out with crunches!" She got down on the grass.

"Wait you're joining us?" Kaito looked surprised.

"You males need supervision, and from none other than the ultimate Akido master! In case you get any funny ideas."

"Uh, sure thanks Tenko," Shuichi and Kaito exchanged glances and shrugged. Coming from Tenko, this was considered help.

After a few painful intense workouts, Kaito and Shuichi fell on the grass exhausted.

"Not bad for a couple males. Now get up! Onto our next routine!"

"What?!" Both shouted in unison.

"You think it was over? That first bit is nothing to me!"

Both males sighed, knowing they won't be able to escape her grasp.

* * *

 

The next morning, Shuichi woke up from the morning announcement.

"What a crazy night…" He groaned. He jumped at the frantic knocking on his door.

He opened it to see a distressed Kaito.

"Shuichi! I-its!"

"Kaito? What's wrong?"

"Just come, quick!" He grabbed the smaller boy's hand and ran to the pool area. Ryoma was already there.

"Shuichi. Kaito." Ryoma said without turning around. Shuichi looked over to see what the short man was looking at.

BING BONG, BING BONG

Monokuma's face appeared onscreen.

"A body has been discovered. Everyone, please gather to the pool area immediately."

Shuichi barely heard it. All he could focus on was the body of the Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo Shinguji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Like how Shuichi used reverse psychology on Tenko? Anyway, screw Kiyo. Wasn't gonna keep him for long.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Just a heads up, in order to make this case make sense, I had to make some changes to the previous chapter, 16. Please read that before you read this one. Sorry for the inconvenience! >.<

No. This couldn't be. Another classmate dead? Why? Didn't they all agree to work together?

Shuichi fell to his knees. Everyone else came rushing in.

"Wha-wha- "Kibo stuttered.

"Nyegh!" Himiko backed away slowly.

"Kyaahhh!" Tenko screamed.

"Why-"Gonta couldn't finish his sentence.

"Shit! And we just saw him last night…" Kaito ran his fingers through his hair.

Rantaro frowned.

"He has a sister." The robot spoke up. Everyone turned to him.

"Well, me and Kirumi. When we went to his lab, he told me he had a sister."

"Yes, I recall." The maid agreed.

"Why the long faces?" A high-pitched voice said.

"Why do you think, you, stupid bear?" Kaito shouted.

"Now, now. Don't hate. I'm not the one who killed him. One of you did!"

"You little- "Kaito growled.

"Don't." Shuichi grabbed his arm.

"I assume you're here to give us the Monokuma File." Rantaro said.

"Cooooorrect! Here ya go!" Monokuma sneered.

Rantaro practically snatched it and turned it on.

He went over to the distraught detective.

"Shuichi, c'mon let's look through this. I know what we agreed, but it happened again. We have to find the truth."

The boy didn't respond at first. Then he nodded slowly and got up.

"Alright, I'm ready to find the truth."

He took the file and looked over it.

"The victim was Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo Shinguji. Found dead in the pool. The right wrist is broken. Left cheek is bruised. Cause of death is a stab wound to the chest."

"What the hell? That's not enough information to go by! The time of death isn't labeled!" Kaito threw his hands up.

"Puhuhuhu… I'm not gonna give away too much information that'll point to the killer. Besides, you all solved the last case too easily. Well good luck this time!" He said before disappearing.

"That damn bear…" Kaito sighed.

"We're just gonna have to search everyone's alibis. It won't be easy, so let's be as thorough as possible." Shuichi said.

-BEGIN INVESTIGATION-

"From the looks of the injuries, I can conclude there was some kind of struggle." Shuichi said.

"A bruised face and a broken wrist. Kiyo must've been faced with a tough opponent to suffer these injuries." Rantaro pointed out.

"But look around. There's no sign of a struggle." Kaito asked.

They looked around. The young astronaut was right, the area was clean, as if no struggle occurred.

"The culprit probably didn't want to leave any traces behind. But, they cannot hide from Atua!" Angie said.

"Uh, yeah well we're gonna have to look elsewhere for clues."

They noticed Kibo by the empty pool, eyeing something.

"Hey Kibo, notice something?" the detective asked.

"Oh Shuichi, Rantaro. I noticed something in the pool and was about to retrieve it."

"It's not nighttime, so its fine." Rantaro said. Upon closer inspection, they noticed it was a dried, blood-stained short sword.

"Have you guys seen this before?" Kibo questioned.

"No, it most certainly doesn't look like an ordinary kitchen utensil either." Rantaro concluded.

"We can conclude this is as the murder weapon. But where could the culprit possibly get this?" Kibo said.

"We would have to search the whole campus to find out." Shuichi turned it over with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's best we interrogate everyone and see if we find any hints." The green haired suggested.

* * *

"Ryouma, you were the first to discover the body." Rantaro asked.

"Correct. I looked out the window of my lab and saw that unpleasant sight." Ryoma closed his eyes.

"And you notified Kaito first, why?" Shuichi asked.

"He was the first one I ran into. I told him to get everyone."

"I see. And where were you right before nighttime?" the detective continued.

"Well after Gonta knocked you out, I dodged him a few more times before I finally went to my room. It's not a very good testimony, I know. But it's the truth." He put the candy in his mouth.

"Wait, he knocked you out?" Rantaro turned to Shuichi.

"Ah, um long story. I'll tell you later. But thanks, Ryoma. I'll keep that in mind."

The tennis player nodded.

* * *

"Miu, Gonta said he tried to recruit you but couldn't. Why is that?" Shuichi asked the blonde.

"Uh, well, I used my secret woman weapon to keep him away…And it worked." She blushed.

The two boys exchanged glances.

"Alright, thanks Miu."

"Kirumi, you also weren't at the Insect Meet and Greet." Shuichi said when they approached the maid.

"Correct. I told Gonta I had errands to run and no time for nonsense. He listened and left me alone."

"Yeah, I think Gonta said the same thing. What did you do the rest of the night?" the detective asked.

"I finished all your laundry, so I went back to the dorms. I always patrol for a bit in case anyone needs my services. I ran into Kokichi on the way there, and I assumed he'd be up to no good, so I asked him what he was doing. I told him to stay out of trouble but afterwards he just ran off."

"I see. Thank you." Rantaro said.

* * *

"Hey Gonta. Thanks for showing us your bugs last night." Shuichi smiled at the taller man.

"Ah no problem! Gonta want people to see why bugs are amazing creatures."

"It's sad you couldn't get all of us."

"Sorry, Gonta, I must've missed you somehow." Rantaro waved a hand in apology.

"Yeah, but its ok! Always next time!"

"So, after our meeting, you showed the bugs to Kokichi, right?" the short boy asked.

"Yes! He was running around. He look like he have fun!"

Shuichi giggled.

"I see, any other information you might have?"

"No…Oh wait yes! Gonta don't know for sure, but Gonta thought he heard machine."

"A machine?"

"Yeah, but Gonta thought it nothing."

"What time was this?" Rantaro asked.

"Um, sometime after you all left, so probably…. 11:00?"

"Were you still with Kokichi when you heard that?"

"No, Gonta heard it when Gonta escorted Kokichi out of bug room."

"Hm, I see. Thank you, big guy." The green haired smiled.

* * *

"Kokichi, where are our kub pads? What did you do?" The detective crossed his arms.

"Awwwww does the cute genius detective suspect me? I didn't do anything wrong." Kokichi fake cried.

"Tell us what you were doing last night." Rantaro glared at the child like dictator.

"Fiiiiiinnne. We I didn't wanna deal with disgusting bugs sooooo I went back to your dorms to get the kub pads. I put them in a box in my room and was gonna take them back for us to watch. But I ran into Kirumi and she lectured me til I got bored and ran away."

Shuichi thought for a moment.

"Or maybe it's a lie!"

"This isn't the time for that!" the detective scolded.

"Waaaahhh!" Kokichi cried and ran off.

"Wait!" Shuichi called out.

But Rantaro shook his head.

"I don't think he lied. Maybe he isn't telling us everything, but let's assume he's being honest at the moment."

The black-haired bot sighed. "Alright, so who else should we interrogate?"

"Whoever wasn't at the insect meet and greet. We already got Miu, Kirumi and Kokichi."

"Who else is there?" The taller asked.

"Maki. Gonta said something interesting about her last night. He said Maki scared him last night, so he didn't take her with him."

"Do you think she was hiding something?"

"Possibly. Its definitely suspicious, so I think we should question her."

* * *

The pair looked everywhere but couldn't find the care giver. When they decided to check on the second floor, Shuichi noticed something.

"Have we turned this corner before?" Shuichi asked.

"I don't think so, let's check it out." The survivor answered.

Sure enough, they found a large, red door neither of them has seen. Outside, Maki stood her ground.

"Maki? What are you doing here? What is this place?" The surprised detective asked.

The caregiver's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are you here?" she asked instead of answering.

"We were looking for you, actually. We have some questions." Rantaro said.

"I doubt I have answers."

"Um, what is this room? IS this your lab?" Shuichi asked.

"…So what if it is?"

"It sure doesn't look like the lab of a child caregiver." Rantaro noticed its unwelcoming appearance.

"What's it to you?" She glared.

"Um, anyway, where were you at the time of the murder?" Shuichi asked.

"I was in my room."

"Anything else?"

"No. Are we done here?

"Wait, Maki one more thing. Last night Gonta tried to recruit you to the Insect Meet and Greet. Why didn't you come?"

"Isn't it obvious? I wasn't gonna participate in something so ridiculous."

"Where were you when he ask- "

"Didn't you say, 'one more thing?' We are done here. Leave me or I'll kill both of you." Her face darkened.

"Uh, right. Sorry. Thanks Maki." Shuichi said quickly and grabbed Rantaro's wrist.

"You alright with just that, Shuichi? She didn't give us much information."

"I doubt pressing her would've have good consequences. Besides, she did prove Gonta's claim to be true."

"I see. You really are good at what you do."

Shuichi blushed. After that, the decided to search the school. Unfortunately, there was nowhere that the knife could've come from.

"This is odd." Rantaro said.

"It is. But for now, we must leave it at that. We still have to explore the dorms. I want to confirm something."

"Lead the way, Detective."

They went back and sure enough, the kub pad was missing from his room.

"Shit, how did I not notice this?"

"Perhaps its cause you were exhausted last night only to wake up to realize a murder happened." Rantaro crossed his arms.

"Yeah, true. I had such a long day that I went straight to bed."

"Let's check the other rooms."

Some of the rooms were locked. Rantaro's room was the same as Shuichi's-no kub pad was present.

"I hope we can look in Kiyo's room." The detective said.

"You sure can!" Monokuma popped out.

"Kyaahh!" the short boy jumped back.

"Chill out! I'm only here to tell you that if someone dies, it unlocks automatically. So use it wisely! Puhuhuhu…." He giggled before disappearing.

"What a pain the ass." Rantaro sighed.

"At least we can check his room for anything suspicious."

They walk in to find it looking untouched.

"There's nothing really suspicious here. If there was, the culprit could have taken any evidence with them."

"True. But consider this, the room hasn't been touched in a few days. This could mean Kiyo planned to meet with someone."

"How do you know that?"

DING DONG, BING BONG

A monitor flickered and Monokuma appeared onscreen.

"Time's up! Everyone, please gather to the fountain!"

"Crap, well, I'll explain in the class trial." Shuichi muttered.

"It's okay Shuichi let's just do our best with what we already know. I believe in you." Rantaro put a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder.

"Thanks."


	18. Chapter 18

Everyone has gathered to the fountain. No one said a word the whole trip to the class trial. Everyone was too shocked another murder occurred. Shuichi tried to run all the clues he gathered through his head. There were still some things missing, that he would eventually have to bring up for the trial.

Everyone went to their assigned posts once more. Monokuma sat on his throne and spoke.

-CLASS TRIAL-

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the Class Trial! During the trial you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for 'who dunnit' Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy!" Monokuma announced.

"Not again…" Himiko sighed.

"Whoever killed that creep fess up! Your actions are hurting poor Himiko!" Tenko shouted.

"I doubt they're just gonna confess off the bat." Ryouma said.

"This is another vague case. We don't have much to go by." Kibo pointed out.

"Let's just go over what we've gathered so far," Shuichi said.

"The time of death isn't stated in the Monokuma file." Rantaro said.

"What? Then how we know when he was killed?" Kaito asked.

"Dumbass, the pool is closed off. It would either have to be before nighttime or during the morning." Kokichi rolled his eyes.

"Don't call me a dumbass!"

"It wasn't in the morning." Ryouma said.

"Huh? How do you know that?" Shuichi asked.

"I woke up before the morning announcement. I went to my lab and looked out the window just as the announcement came on. And that's when I found the body."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier when we interrogated you?" The green haired asked.

"I apologize. I didn't think we'd had to narrow down the time of death any further." Ryouma closed his eyes.

"How do we know he's telling the truth?" Kokichi tilted his head.

The tennis player sighed.

"No, I think he is. Shuichi, Rantaro and I found the weapon in the pool. If it occurred in the morning, the blood would be fresh. But it wasn't." Kibo said.

"What? Why did they leave it? That's crucial evidence! I'd take that shit with me!" Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"Because no one is permitted to enter the pool at night, so if it fell in they'd have no choice but to leave it." Shuichi added.

"Considering such circumstances, the murder took place during nighttime yesterday?" Kibo concluded.

"Correct."

"Where was everyone during the time of the murder?" Kirumi asked.

"Well we were in Gonta's lab from around 9pm to 10pm last night. It was definitely after 10pm, which is nighttime." Kaito said.

"So none of us have alibis?" Angie tilted her head.

"Well me and Shuichi were work out every night! Last night was no exception. Tenko joined us later, too!" Kaito gave a thumbs up.

"Yep! I helped those degenerates with my natural akido techniques!"

"I would not like to be reminded of that, but it's true. The three of us were training together." Shuichi agreed.

"I guess we can you rule those three out as possible suspects." Kibo said.

"Also, I believe Gonta and Kokichi have alibis as well."

"Aw, is the detective defending me?" The purple haired sang.

"No, I'm just stating facts. They were in Gonta's lab after we left the insect meet and greet."

"It's true! Kokichi wasn't there, so Gonta showed him bugs after everyone left." The bug lover beamed.

"How long were you guys in there?" Rantaro asked.

"About an hour, same time as Insect Meet and Greet meeting."

"Wait, but if the murder took place at nighttime, it could've been anytime during the night!" Miu spat.

"No that's wrong, I came to a conclusion when I visited Kiyo's room."

"And what's that?" Himiko asked.

"Kiyo never went back to his dorm."

"What?" a few students said.

"How can you be sure?" Angie asked.

"Because the room was very neat."

"Maybe he just likes being tidy, for a creep." Tenko said.

"True, but the room looked untouched for over a day. Which means the last time he slept in it was most likely yesterday morning. If he went back to bed last night and met up with the killer, it would look like it has been slept in. Plus, why would he need to make his bed in the middle of the night? The murder must've taken place shortly after we all left Gonta's lab."

"Wow Shuichi, I would've never come to that conclusion when I saw his room." Rantaro raised his eyebrows.

"So that means Gonta, Shuichi, Kaito, Tenko, and Kokichi have alibis?" Kirumi asked.

"Correct. And I believe we can rule Ryouma out." Shuichi spoke up.

"How come?" Gonta asked.

"Yeah tell us Detective!" Kokichi said.

"First time I'm not being accused of a murder. How surprising." The ex-con said.

"The announcement. It rings when three people find the body. But it doesn't include the culprit, right Monokuma?" Shuichi looked up at the throne.

The bear remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Fine, since I left out a lot of info on this case, I'll let you suckers in on this. When three people, not including the culprit, find the body, it triggers the announcement."

"Woohoo! Good work Shuichi! The detective is on fire again!" Kokichi cheered.

Shuichi ignored him.

"How the fuck did you know that?" Miu asked.

"I noticed from the first murder. It was me, Rantaro, Tenko, and Kaito who first discovered Kaede's body. But none of us turned out to be the culprit."

"I see. That's a good deduction." Kirumi agreed.

"So… whoever's left is a possible suspect?" Kaito asked.

"Unfortunately, none of us have alibis." Kibo looked down.

"Nyeh…" Himiko pouted.

"Someone better fess up before they even think of accusing Himiko!" Tenko shouted.

"I doubt they'd do that. For now, let's focus on something else. Like the weapon. Where did it come from?" Rantaro asked.

"It wasn't the kitchen?" Himiko asked.

"No, the decoration on it suggests its not for culinary use." Shuichi said.

"I know where it could've come from!" Kokichi raised a hand.

"What bullshit are you gonna give us now?" Miu asked.

"Maybe if you keep that whore mouth shut for once, I'll tell you."

"W-whore?" She stuttered.

"Maki's lab!"

"What? Lab?" Kibo asked.

Maki glared at the short dictator.

"Your lab opened up?" Tenko asked.

"Yep! But she was guarding it this whole time! And it was in a hidden corner of the building, so it wasn't easy to spot." Kokichi answered.

"Actually, he's right. Rantaro and I interrogated her, and she was standing outside a door we haven't seen."

"But the ultimate child caregiver wouldn't have that in there!" Kaito objected.

"Hey, you never know. It's not like you been in there, have you?" Kokichi grinned.

"Tch," Kaito spat.

"Wait, Maki can't be the culprit." Shuichi said

"What? How would you know?" Kokichi asked innocently.

"A motive. Why did a murder happen in the first place?"

"The kub pads! It had our motives in it!" Kibo realized.

"Gonta forgot about those!"

"How does this prove Maki's innocence?" Kirumi asked.

"Because… Kaito, told me he had hers."

The astronaut blinked in surprise. He didn't remember such a discussion.

Shuichi was lying.

* * *

Kaito was confused. He didn't believe for a second Maki was the culprit. However, lying was never an option, especially during a class trial. But he trusted his friend.

"Oh yeah, we were training the other day and you told me off the bat. I thought you were crazy for trusting me at first." Shuichi laughed.

Maki looked shocked but stayed silent.

"But didn't we agree not to say which videos we had?" Kibo said disappointedly.

"Well Shuichi and I trust each other at this point! Bros never keep secrets from each other!" Kaito played along.

"But if Kaito have Maki's video…" Gonta questioned.

"Then that rules her out!" Kibo said.

"Not completely, but its unlikely. Even if she had Kiyo's she claimed to haven't bothered watching it. And since Kaito has hers, her being a suspect wouldn't add up." Rantaro concluded.

"Besides, I know where the weapon may have come from." The detective said.

"Where?" Tenko asked.

"From the victim himself."

Everyone gasped.

"What? Why would he have weapon?" Gonta asked.

"To commit murder. Maybe he felt he needed to leave because he was worried about someone."

"You think he saw his motive video?" the maid questioned.

"No, but we do have some of our memories. Kibo, didn't you say earlier that he had a sister?" The detective turned to the robot.

"Ah, yes. He told me and Kirumi. The way he described her made it seem like they were very close."

"Indeed. I felt his concern." Kirumi added.

"But why was that kinky fucker killed instead?" Miu asked.

"The culprit fought back. Which explains the other injuries." Kibo answered.

"Who could it be though?" Himiko scratched her head.

"I'm not sure, but there is one person who seems suspicious based on what they said."

"Who?" Kaito asked.

"I don't wanna believe it, but I want to clear some things up."

-SELECT SOMEONE-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Any ideas? :P


	19. Chapter 19

-SELECT SOMEONE-

"Tenko, I'm confused by a few things you said." Shuichi turned to the akido master.

"W-what? Why am I being accused?! I have an alibi!" She panicked.

"Actually, you didn't join me and Kaito right away. You came about fifteen minutes after we started. That's enough time to meet with Kiyo."

"S-so? I told you, I went for my nightly jog!"

"No, I don't think you did. I remember when we left Gonta's lab you complained about not being able to go on your nightly jog."

"I actually remember that too…" Kaito looked away.

"Well I decided to anyway! Akido masters can't miss a day of training!"

"Let's also take into consideration: You are the only one I can think of who is skilled enough to disarm someone with a weapon. You broke his wrist in the process."

"I-I- didn't do anything to that creep!"

"Tenko, why do you keep calling him that? Isn't it messed up to say that about someone who was murdered?" Kaito asked.

"Because that's exactly what he was! A creep!" She shouted without thinking.

Everyone gasped.

"Tenko… do you know something?" Kibo asked.

"You're acting highly suspicious." Ryouma said.

The martial artist fidgeted her fingers.

"Tenko, please tell us the truth." A small voice spoke up.

"Himiko?" She looked at the short girl.

"I don't want to believe you're suspicious, but please tell us the truth."

"Himiko…." Tenko sniffed.

"Yeah, we don't want to accuse any of our friends." Kaito agreed.

"You guys… think of me as a friend? B-but you're degenerates!"

"Um, call us what you want, but its true, Tenko." Shuichi smiled sadly.

The black-haired girl clenched her fist, then took a deep breath.

"Ok, I'll tell you. I… did meet with Kiyo last night."

Everyone froze in their spots.

"He wanted to confirm if his sister was alright. He assumed I had his kub pad since he had mine. We agreed to met sometime during the night but then Gonta came and grabbed us before we could meet up. After we left, we met in the gym."

* * *

_When no one was looking. Kiyo beckoned Tenko. She nodded and followed him to the pool area._

_"I think Kokichi has our kub pads." Tenko said._

_"That's fine. I already know my sister is on it."_

_"How?"_

_"She's who I hold most dear. It would make sense that she's my motive."_

_"I see. It's nice that you two are very close."_

_"Were."_

_"What?"_

_"My sister… is no longer in this world."_

_"Oh… I'm so sorry for your loss."_

_"Yes. She was sick for a very long time before nature took its course."_

_Tenko frowned._

_"But, she's always with me."_

_"It's good you have that mentality."_

_"No, I mean always."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_Kiyo lowered his mask to reveal shiny, red lips._

_"Lipstick?! Are you a drag?"_

_The man giggled, but not in his usual voice._

_"She's a funny girl, Kiyo."_

_"What the… is that a girl's voice?"_

_"We'll always be together, my dear brother."_

_He pulled his mask back up and his voice returned to normal._

_"And I with you, dear sister."_

_"What the hell is going on?"_

_"My sister and I are so close, that she became one with me when she passed. We loved each other too much to part ways."_

_"Wait, by love you don't mean…"_

_"Oh yes, we don't care about society's norms. Our love is too strong!"_

_"That's just weird!" Tenko slowly backed away._

_"It never mattered to us. But that's besides the point. You see, sometimes, she does get lonely. So I send her wonderful girls to keep her company." He reached into his jacked._

_"Send?! Wait you don't mean..."_

_"Would you like to meet her?" He pulled out a short sword and lunged for her. Unfortunately for him, Tenko was the last girl he should've attacked. With expert martial art skills, she read her opponent's every move. She grabbed his right wrist and twisted it behind his back._

_"AAARRRGHHH!" He screamed and dropped the knife._

_"You disgust me! Worse than any degenerate I've met!"_

_"Ergh…nothing will stop me from making my sister happy… It's all for our beautiful romance!"_

_"There's nothing beautiful about anything you said! Incest, murdering innocent girls! You're a fucking psycho! And I'll make sure everyone finds out what you truly are!"_

_"Kehekehekeh…That doesn't matter. Who's going to believe you? You just gave me a broken wrist." He smirked behind his mask._

_"Tch," Tenko hesitated and Kiyo took advantage and broke free._

_"I wonder which one of these lovely girls here will be next."_

_"Don't you touch any of them!" She noticed the knife laying a few feet away. Without thinking, she walked towards it, but stopped._

_"You can't do it can you?"_

_"Of course not! I will never stoop down to your level!"_

_"But if you don't, how can you protect your precious friends?"_

_"You bastard! I WON'T LET YOU!" Tenko shouted. Without thinking, her fist met his face hard enough to knock him out._

_She stood there, trying to recollect what just happened before she ran out._

* * *

"And that's when I ran into you guys." Tenko concluded. "I was so scared that I didn't know what else to do. I was actually relieved I ran into you two."

The workout duo looked at her in shock. A video suddenly played in front of them. It was Kiyo's motive video. Everyone watched in horror when they saw her claims were true.

"He…he's so freaky!" Himiko yelped.

"What kind of sicko feels that way towards a sister?" Kaito shouted.

Rantaro scowled at the video.

Shuichi took notice and gripped his hand.

"So what? Even if she was right about him doesn't mean she didn't kill him!" Kokichi argued.

"Huh? But why would she lie?" Kibo asked.

"Yeah. I admit, I did meet with him. I gave him those injuries. But I didn't kill him."

"Please, you think we'll believe that bullshit? Sure that cuck deserved death, but it doesn't mean you're in the clear! Our lives are still on the line." Miu spat.

"It is a bit hard to believe." Kirumi put lightly.

"B-but… I believe you…." Himiko muttered.

"Himiko…" Tenko smiled warmly.

"Gonta wanna believe Tenko too! Gentlemen always believe friends!"

"You too, Gonta?" Tenko asked.

"Yeah! That's what friends are for!" Kaito agreed.

"Are you wusses done being My Little Pony characters?" Miu gave them a thumbs down.

"Ew. This is getting too mushy for me." Kokichi fake gagged.

"Atua will not forgive liars." Angie warned.

"Hmph. You idiots believe anything you hear." Maki closed her eyes.

"She doesn't seem to be lying, but let's see what the Ultimate Detective says." Kibo suggested.

Shuichi nodded. "She's telling the truth."

"Well, I guess we're gonna have to disagree for once, Shuichi."

Shuichi looked at the speaker in shock. "Rantaro…"

"I want to 'believe' in people I care about too. But we're looking for the truth here, whether it hurts or not." The tall male said firmly.

"…"

"Well this is just great! We're split down the middle!" Miu threw her hands up.

"Woah! Did I hear split up?" Monokuma suddenly jumped from his seat.

"Yeah so what?" Kait shouted back.

"Puhuhuhu, have I been itching to use this! The Ultimate Academy is proud to present, its morphenomenal trial grounds! The Class Trial's first Scrum Debate!"

"Wait-wha-"

Before Shuichi could finish his sentence, Monokuma took out a key and used it on a mechanical device in front of him. Suddenly, all their stands were being lifted higher into the air until they were in a bright lit room. (cue awesome Scrum Debate music).

On one side stood Rantaro, Kokichi, Kirumi, Miu, Angie, and Maki. This was the "Tenko is the culprit" side.

On the "Tenko is not the culprit" stood Shuichi, Kaito, Gonta, Himiko, Tenko, Kibo, and Ryouma.

"Tenko practically confessed to being the culprit." Maki began.

"Kaito!" "She admitted she met with him, not confess to murder."

"There's no proof to claim her innocence." Kirumi countered.

"Kibo!" "There's also no proof to claim her guilt."

"They had each other's motive videos." Angie remembered.

"Himiko!" "The real culprit could've killed them for their own reasons."

"She's the only one who could've disarmed someone with a weapon." Kokichi said with confidence.

"Ryouma!" "Did you ever think about the possibility of a third party?"

"She said she considered killing him with the knife." Kirumi added.

"Gonta!" "Consider different from actually doing it."

"That bitch used the knife, nuff said." Miu argued.

"Kibo!" "There was no blood on her!"

"She obviously washed it off." Maki said bluntly.

"Tenko!" "The pool was empty that night, there was no way I could've done that!"

"You went to the bathroom to do that, duh!" Miu rolled her eyes.

"Kaito!" "The bathrooms were in the dorms, she'd have to pass by us first if she was on her way there."

"If she didn't have blood on her, then whoever killed him did." Rantaro stated.

"I've got this!" "And I know someone who might have!"

"This is our answer!" They all said in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter turned out to be very similar to another great fanfiction I read called Three-Point Shot by RandomRex6, which wasn't my original intention V_V". But in the end it inspired a lot of elements for this chapter. (check it out it's awesome) But the outcome is completely different, so I'm happy. Also what did you think of the Scrum Debate? It's my favorite new asset to the game and this was so much fun to write.


	20. Chapter 20

"This is our answer!" They all said in unison

"Wait, so what's your theory?" Kaito asked his detective friend.

"Well it didn't seem like a big deal at first, but there are a few things that's been on my mind. Gonta, when Rantaro and I interrogated you, you mentioned about hearing a machine."

"What? Oh yeah, after Kokichi left, Gonta was on his way back to room, but Gonta thought he heard something."

"What did it sound like?" the little magician asked.

"It sound kinda like, rumbling…"

"That sounds like…. A laundry machine." Shuichi brought up.

"What? Who'd do laundry that late into the night?" Tenko asked.

"I can think of one person. Kirumi?"

"What is it, Shuichi?"

"Were you doing our laundry last night?"

"Yes, no matter what the time, I'm always happy to do chores."

"Normally, I'd agree. But when we interrogated you, you said you finished all our laundry before the Insect Meet and Greet."

She stood silent for a moment before saying, "Well, I found some extra clothes, so I decided to do them."

"That sounds too convenient. Especially after the possibility of blood splattering on someone's clothes when a murder just occurred." Rantaro disagreed.

"Woah wait, Kirumi being a maid can't prove she did anything!" Miu defended.

"Actually, it could." The robot spoke up.

"How? Do you have lie detectors stored in your hard drive?" the dictator asked mockingly.

"No! But, Kirumi, I remember you telling me and Kiyo back in your lab that you could wash off the hardest of stains. Like ink. Blood isn't easy to wash off either, so considering your skills, you could easily wash even that off."

Kirumi remained calm. "I'm glad you acknowledged my skills. But that still can't prove anything."

"But this is all pointing to you as a possible killer." Maki eyed her.

"Gonta no wanna believe Kirumi do such thing! Kirumi take good care of us!"

"Yeah! Mom's no killer! Quit trying to cover for your precious little Tenko!" Kokichi yelled.

Tenko growled.

"Besides, didn't you just suspect Tenko earlier? Do you have multiple personalities?" Kokichi continued.

"I specifically said, 'I was confused by a few things you said.' I never actually suspected her in the first place." Shuichi rationalized.

"Wait, you never suspected me?" the akido master looked shocked.

"No, Tenko. I apologized for putting you on the spot like that. I did that to actually prove your innocence."

"And how do you she's innocent? She probably hides her lesbian porn somewhere!" Miu laughed.

"L-l-les-...!" Tenko blushed.

"That's the wrong definition of 'innocent' you have." Ryouma rolled his eyes at the inventor.

"Like I said, there were a few things on my mind. And this last one is what's been bugging me the most." Shuichi spoke up.

"What would that be?" Rantaro tilted his head.

"The knife. Look at the bloodstain pattern on the handle." Shuichi carefully brought out the important piece of evidence.

"The handle is bloody. That's to be expected." Maki looked at it unimpressed.

"Not in the area you're holding it."

"What?" Kaito asked.

"When you hold a knife and then get splattered with blood, it would stain all of it. Except the area where your palm was covering it. Make sense?" the detective explained.

"Oh Gonta get it!"

"But look here. There's a clean area where the palm was."

He passed it around and sure enough, there was blood in the palm area.

"How would that get there?" Himiko asked.

"Easy. The culprit cut themselves trying to stab Kiyo."

"Wow you figured that all out so easily! Great job detective!" the cheeky dictator said. "But so what? How does this prove anything?"

"If Tenko cut herself trying to stab Kiyo, her hand would be bandaged and bloody. But it wasn't."

"That's right! I would've remembered something like that." Kaito agreed.

"Yeah, see no injury here!" The martial artist held up both hands. They were clean of any scars.

"So that proves her innocence!" Kibo's eyes brightened.

"Amongst all of us, who could easily hide a scar on their hand?" Shuichi said.

"Kirumi. She's the only one who wears gloves." Ryouma concluded. Everyone gasped.

"Tch…" the maid fiddled with her fingers.

"Well Kirumi? If you're not the culprit, please show us your hands." The detective pressed.

The maid looked at them sadly.

"I'm so sorry for this."

"What?" Gonta asked.

"I only wanted to protect you all."

* * *

_Kiyo blinked a few times and looked around him. He groaned in pain, and suddenly he remembered what just happened._

_"Your wrist is in pretty bad shape." A girl's voice said. Kiyo looked over and saw Kirumi walking in._

_"Ah, well I just got in a little quarrel. No biggie."_

_"Its okay, Kiyo. Tell me the truth. As a maid. I do what must be done."_

_He sighed. "If you insist. It's Tenko…."_

_"Tenko? I know she hates men, but would she go this far?" Kirumi noticed the knife nearby._

_"Unfortunately, she would. You see, I had her motive video and tried to talk her out of it. But she wouldn't listen and attacked me. I was able to fight her off, but I'm afraid she's too dangerous."_

_"I see. So that's your story." Kirumi closed her eyes._

_"Will you protect everyone from her? Especially the males. You don't have to believe me, but-"_

_"I don't."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't believe you. I heard the whole thing right outside. You truly are a 'degenerate' as she stated."_

_"W-what do you mean?" He laughed nervously._

_"I noticed it when we first talked in my lab with Kibo. The way you described your love for your sister seemed rather… abnormal. What I just heard transpire proves my hunch."_

_Kiyo looked at her in shock then snickered._

_"Kehkehkeh…Looks like I'll have to silence you too."_

_"In your condition, I highly doubt you can do that." She walked over to the knife and picked it up._

_"I don't want to have to resort to this, but for my family, I will."_

_"K-Kirumi?" He stuttered._

_She was about to stab him when he tackled her. They struggled, causing her to cut her hand._

_"Agh!" She screamed._

_"You're nothing compared to Tenko!"_

_"Tch…" Kirumi spat. Fighting the pain, she gripped the handle firmly with both hands and quickly stabbed the anthropologist who dared underestimate her. She panted, then proceeded to clean the area and her clothes._

* * *

"No way… that menace was gonna make me look bad?" Tenko gasped.

"I'm afraid so. It would've worked, had he kept his kub pad hidden."

"He really was a monster…" Himiko gulped.

"It's okay Himiko, he won't hurt you or anyone again." The black-haired girl reassured.

"That man…. I couldn't allow such a horrible person to live."

"Kirumi…" Tenko sympathized.

She took off her right glove and revealed a bandaged scar on her hand. Everyone froze.

"What you told us… was true." Gonta stammered.

"I wasn't sure who I was going to sacrifice. My original target was you." She looked over at Ryouma.

"Me?"

"I saw how empty you were compared to everyone else. You probably would have agreed to let me kill you if I told you my reasons."

Ryouma stood still for a few moments, then sighed. "You're right, I probably would have. But for now, maybe things are different."

Shuichi and Kaito smiled.

"Anyways, while I was pondering on what to do, I happened to stumble across the gym. I knew Tenko didn't have it in her to kill. It was perfect. Like faith gave me this chance to see my loved ones once more."

Tenko looked down.

"I must respect your skills, Shuichi. If only I haven't dropped the knife in the pool, this would've been the perfect cover up."

"Why… why were you going to let me-let us-take the fall?" Tears fell from Tenko's face.

The motherly girl sighed. "Your theories were right; the killer did get their own motive video." She said and on cue, it played onscreen.

...

By the end, everyone's jaws were open.

"You're… the real prime minister?" Tenko barely managed to say.

"What the hell..." Kaito looked down.

"Precisely. As prime minister, I must do what's best for the country. Even if it meant sacrifices. I couldn't say here not knowing if my own country-my people-were safe."

"Kirumi…" Shuichi closed his eyes.

"Well Monokuma it's time to vote."

"Puhuhuhu! It's time to cast your votes. Will you choose the right answer? Or the hopelessly wrong one?"

A casino machine landed on Kirumi's sprite face and read, "GUILTY"

"Right you are! The one who murdered Korekiyo Shinguji is none other than Kirumi Tojo!"

"No way…" Kibo said.

"Waahh! Mom's a killer!" Kokichi cried.

"I do apologize, but I have no regrets except failing to protect my citizens. Farewell, my children. It was a pleasure serving you." Kirumi bowed.

"Kirumi!" Shuichi called.

"Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiiit's, Punishment Time!" Monokuma laughed manically.

**GAME OVER**

**KIRUMI TOJO HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

**COMMENCING PUNISHMENT**

**A True Hero**

Kirumi was bought outside and stood before a large group of people. They were all ages, children, parents, teens, elders, all going on with their daily lives. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks when she realized she was set free. She watched over them lovingly until an explosion occurred. She spun around to see an enemy country coming at the citizens with weapons.

Quick on her feet, she flung to their defense. She was given her own weapons and even had some hidden in her garter belts. She successfully took down some enemies. Suddenly, one enemy was running towards a crying child. Without hesitating, Kirumi jumped on the kid to shield them only to realize it was a realistic cardboard cutout. The whole area was a fake outdoor scenery. She gasped in horror and was quickly hit with a grenade along with the rest of the cutouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What did you guys think? I kept the idea of Kirumi being prime minister since it suits her character. My intention was to throw my readers off and think Tenko was the culprit. But I think Kirumi framing her would've been more interesting. Anyway, I'm glad I finally got the second murder finished. Look forward to more thrills chills and kills!


	21. Chapter 21

Everyone watched in horror as the kind, motherly young woman dissolved in the explosion.

Some of the students cried while others remained stiff.

“N-no…” Tenko covered her mouth. Himiko fidgeted and grabbed Tenko’s sleeve.

“Atua, may she rest in peace. She was a noble woman” Angie put her hands in prayer.

“Aw, and she was such a nice girl. But who cares! She deceived you all.” Monokuma waved his paw.

“How can you say that?” Gonta cried out.

“Seriously! You make me look bad!” Kibo pointed out.

“Yeah! She had good intentions!” Tenko followed.

“Why do you care? She tried to frame you anyway.” The bear asked mockingly.

“T-that’s…”

“Tch, when will you shut up…” Rantaro glared.

“Puhuhuhu, well as much as I loooove seeing your said little faces, I gotta get my beauty sleep! See ya!” The bear said and disappeared.

They all rode the elevator back silently and slowly started walking to the dorms.

“WAAAAAHH! Mom is dead and it’s all Tenko’s fault!” Kokichi suddenly bawled.

“Shut up asshole! This isn’t anyone’s fault! Kirumi chose to kill someone for her own motives!” Kaito almost clobbered the short dictator.

“Seriously, you’re so despicable.” Maki sighed.

“It’s obvious he’s a sociopath who lacks empathy.” Ryouma chewed his cigarette.

“Hmm? Of all people, I’m being lectured by two murderers?” Kokichi cocked his head to the side.

“Wait, did you just say two murderers?” Kaito asked.

“Oopsie, slip of the tongue!” the boy giggled.

“Spill the beans, shota!” Miu spat.

“Why do you all think we’ve never seen Maki’s room? And why she won’t let Kaito or Shuichi near it?”

“Shut up,” Maki growled.

“Ever wonder why she and Ryouma are distant? They are one and the same!”

“I said shut up!” the twin tailed girl now walked towards Kokichi, threatening to silence him.

“Maki, wait!” Kibo said.

“Kokichi what are you going on about?” Shuichi asked.

“Hey, don’t ask me, ask the Ultimate Assassin!” Kokichi said as Maki grabbed him by the collar. He smiled back, unafraid.

Everyone gasped.

“What…?” Tenko, (who stopped crying at this point) Shuichi, and Gonta said in unison.

“Huh?” Himiko looked terrified.

“That… can’t be true.” Kibo looked horrified.

“The fuck? That petite midget?” Miu scratched her head.

“Oh, this angers Atua…” Angie whispered.

Even Ryouma looked surprised.

“Are you fucking with us?” Kaito shouted angrily. “No way Maki is an assassin!”

“Ask her yourself, then if you don’t believe me. Or just watch her motive video.” He shrugged.

“How could you….” She looked down but tightened her grip.

“Maki, is this true?” Rantaro asked. Everyone looked at him then at her hesitantly.

“…Are you guys going to lock me up now?” She responded quietly.

“Maki….” Gonta said.

“Ha, told you! She ain’t trying to hide it. Ultimate child caregiver? Please she couldn’t fool me with that attitude. Wouldn’t you agree, Shuichi? I mean you are a detective, after all.” The dictator grinned at the detective.

Shuichi’s mouth twitched. He knew there was something off about her behavior, let alone the way she tried to shoo him and Kaito away from her lab, which wasn’t supposed to be suspicious for a child caregiver. Still, he decided to say nothing.

“Who cares?” Kaito suddenly spoke up. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Even Maki let go of Kokichi.

“What? Why? This is serious? We have an assassin amongst us!” Miu said angrily.

Himiko hid under her hat, a sign she agreed.

“Yeah! This is news to us!” Tenko said.

“But Maki wouldn’t hurt us… right?” The bug lover tried to reason.

“Of course not! Maki is one of us! She’s probably just scared like the rest of us!” Kaito argued.

“It’s not like she considers us her friends! She could kill us if she wanted to escape!” Tenko said.

“I ain’t trusting that shady bitch anytime soon. I need my beauty sleep.” Miu flipped her hair and went into the dorms.

“Uh, I got to sleep early for my morning routine!” Tenko said before running after.

Himiko fidgeted her fingers and quickly high tailed after the martial artist.

“I’m curious, but I prefer the safety of prayer!” Angie yawned and walked off.

Those who remained stayed silent, unsure of what to say. Maki was about to walk back when Kaito suddenly said,

“Who cares?”

She turned around. “What?”

“Huh?” Kokichi almost looked disappointed.

“It’s all in the past right, and even if she still is, it probably wasn’t her choice to become one in the first place! I mean who’d want to be an assassin in the first place, am I right?”

Maki was rendered speechless.

“Y-yeah, and now she’s in the same position as us. We should just work together now.” The robot said.

“That’s what’s important for now.” The detective agreed.

Rantaro smiled and nodded. “I agree. This is no time to worry about that.”

“Gonta believe in Maki!”

“Hm. I have no room to judge.” Ryouma said.

“Aw c’mon, you guys are boring.” Kokichi pouted.

“Enough of your childish banter. Your words won’t get to us. Let’s all rest for now.” Rantaro said firmly. They all ignored Kokichi and walked back. Maki, still dumbfounded, quickly followed. This left Kokichi outside by himself.

“Maybe not. But my actions will.” He smiled to himself.

* * *

 

The next morning everyone gathered in the dining hall. Only Maki and Kokichi remained absent.

“Not everyone’s here.” Angie said.

“Who cares about Kokichi. But Maki probably doesn’t want to feel unwelcomed, so my guess is she opted out.” Rantaro stated.

“I don’t blame her.” Shuichi said.

“Yeah we were kinda harsh…” Kibo looked down.

“But she’s a killer…” Himiko muttered.

“Exactly we can’t let someone that dangerous walk freely!” Tenko put her arms around the magician.

“Guys enough! If anything, we should be more worried about Kokichi! That fucker always has something up his sleeve! I’d take my chances with Maki any day!” Kaito said.

“Just cuz you want to do her doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous!” Miu said.

“W-what? I’m not a pervert unlike you!”

“P-p-pervert?” She stuttered.

“Guys enough! Arguing won’t get us anywhere. Whatever our past is, that doesn’t matter. What we need to do now is think of new plans to escape.” Kibo shouted.

“And where the hell did that get us? We lost four people already, and I’m not about to be next!” Miu complained.

“I don’t care for Tsumugi or Kiyo but I’ve always like Kirumi. But in the end she tried framing me. Now I find out there’s an assassin amongst us.” Tenko said.

“Tenko…” Shuichi said.

“She’s right.”

“Rantaro?” Shuichi looked at him surprised.

“Look, despite what I said, last night I did some thinking. I realized I have family waiting for me. I can’t afford to trust anyone let alone an assassin.”

Shuichi looked at him disappointed.

“Should’ve known you wouldn’t be on our side.” Kaito muttered loud enough for the other to hear. Rantaro only looked away.

“I’d trust no one if I were you. None of y’all fuckers is worth my time anyway.” Miu grabbed some breakfast and left. She almost bumped into Kokichi on her way out and said, ‘watch it asshole’.

“Oh is everyone not getting a long? Maybe this’ll be more interesting than I thought!” Kokichi cheered.

“Fuck out of here, man. You’re seriously the last thing we need to see now.” Kaito sighed.

“I bet you’re enjoying this.” Ryouma sighed.

“Why wouldn’t I? This makes things more interesting. Poor Maki, she must feel bad she’s causing all this conflict.”

“Watch your fucking mouth…” Kaito growled.

“I think we just need some time away from each other. Let’s think this all through and come back tomorrow morning.” Shuichi suggested.

“Yeah, Gonta no like fighting.”

“I pray we all become good friends!” Angie agreed.

With that, everyone left the dining hall. Some went to their labs while others explored the school. Not in a mood to explore, Shuichi went back into his room and sat down. He sighed.

“This isn’t what she wanted…” He thought.

After a few moments, he heard a rustling by his door. Curious, he got up and saw a note had been slipped under. Cautiously, he picked it up and read it.

_"Meet me in the library alone at lunchtime. Make sure no one sees you."_


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Shuichi read it over a few times in his head. He even turned the paper over to see if there were any hidden messages. There wasn't. It was just a simple note.

He didn't know what to do. Was it a trap? Did someone want to commit another murder already? But his curiosity as a detective overcame him, and he decided to go.

"I should bring a weapon, just in case," He thought. Then he remembered what happened to Tenko and opted out.

When lunchtime came, he casually left his dorm and went to the dining hall to get food. He had to make it seem like he was only getting a quick bite.

He nodded to Angie and Gonta eating at the table.

"Are you not going to eat and pray with us, Shuichi?" the islander asked when he was about to leave with a sandwich.

"Yeah! Gonta like eat lunch with friends!"

"Uh no, it's ok. I wanna eat in my room. I have some things to think over. A detective has to figure stuff out." He smiled.

"Aw, okay. Atua understands your concerns. But He has a day of rest too, don't forget it!"

"Sure." He nodded and left.

He sighed, believing he most likely fooled them. They both seemed to be in their own little world.

Luckily, he didn't run into anyone else on his way to the library. Outside the door, he took a deep breath. In case this was a plotted murder, his plan was to stay close to the door, so he could run out.

He slowly opened the door and froze.

Tenko and Rantaro were there and smiled at his presence.

"Hey Shuichi. Glad you came." Rantaro waved.

"You weren't late! Not bad for a degenerate male."

"Guys? What's going on, did you guys leave the note?" Shuichi looked back and forth between the two, confused.

"Yep! No one saw you on the way here, right?" Tenko asked.

"I went to the dining hall to make it look like I was getting food. Only Gonta and Angie were there, but I doubt they're gonna bother me about it."

"Alright. Sorry if it seemed suspicious, but we had to send it anonymously." The green haired male said.

"Why? I'm kinda already friends with you both." Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

"But everyone else thinks we're at a rift."

"Huh?"

"Back at the dining hall this morning. When everyone was arguing about trust especially in Maki." Tenko explained.

"Oh yeah… Hey guys I know its not an easy thing to grasp but why freak out like that? And Rantaro I thought you agreed with me and Kaito last night." Shuichi gave them a disappointed look.

Tenko and Rantaro looked at each other and laughed.

"Uh guys?"

"That was all an act!" the martial artist giggled.

"What?!"

"Yeah, well actually Tenko was serious about being skeptical last night. But when I went back into the dorms, I knocked on her door after everyone fell asleep. I asked her to help me with something relating to you." Rantaro explained.

"I-I see. Wait how did you convince Tenko to work with you? She never listens to males."

"You're right, I usually don't. I almost slammed the door in his face but then he mentioned your name. Since I've noticed he looks out for you like I do for Himiko, I heard him out."

"But why pretend we're disagreeing about Maki?"

"To fool everyone else, namely Kokichi. This is what he wants, what he finds interesting. When we disagree. I know he's plotting something, and I think its best to keep our distances and make him think we are at a dispute for now." Rantaro crossed his arms.

"I see. That's actually clever of you guys. But what about Monokuma? Isn't he possibly watching this whole ordeal? Or at least, whoever's behind him." Shuichi brought up.

"Probably, but remember he has his own rules to follow. He can't directly manipulate the murders or take part in them." Rantaro answered.

"True. So now what?"

"I'd say we just keep an eye on everyone, especially Kokichi. We can report back here every two days or whenever something suspicious happens." The tall girl suggested.

"Alright sounds good. But why here?"

"Well, ever since the first murder. Everyone's pretty much stayed away from the library, let alone the whole basement." Rantaro hesitated to say.

"Right," Shuichi suddenly remembered. If it weren't for the note, he would've never strayed foot in here again.

They all looked down, slightly awkward for bringing it up.

"Hey, speaking of, has anyone bothered to check the secret passageway in the library?" Shuichi remembered.

"Oh yeah! We wanted to wait for you to explore that. Hold on, I'll be right back!" Tenko said and quickly left the library.

"What- "Shuichi reached out, but the door has closed.

"Just trust her, Shuichi." Rantaro smiled. He walked over and opened the bookcase.

A few moments later, the black and white door opened and Tenko came out.

"Tenko!" Shuichi said.

"Hey guys, check this out." She beckoned them inside the room. Rantaro and Shuichi exchanged glances and followed her inside.

"Woah, what the heck is this? How did you get in here?" the detective asked.

"The hidden passageway in the girl's bathroom, remember? I can just walk casually in there without anyone batting an eye."

"Right." Their attention turned back to the room. The walls were black, but the room was decorated with pink hearts. It had a large screen and an odd machine with a giant monokuma head in the middle.

"What the hell is this?" Shuichi asked.

"This was probably the mastermind's room." Rantaro said.

"Was?" the girl asked.

"Well Tsumugi isn't the real mastermind, but I assume this was her office."

"How do you know it's hers?"

"Because one of us was working with Monokuma, as we concluded before. Now that she's gone, no one is using it." Shuichi pointed out.

"Do you guys think there's another mastermind among us?" Tenko asked.

"Doubt it. Otherwise this room would probably still be in use. I even checked the men's bathroom." The detective concluded.

"And I've been exploring this school inside out. There seems to be no other hidden passageways." Rantaro backed up.

"Wait Tenko, did you go through the passageway to this room considering another possible traitor?" Shuichi asked with a concerned look.

"Yep! If there was another mastermind in here! I was gonna use my neo-akido to flip her over!" She said with a confident smile.

Both males facepalmed.

"Well I'm glad there isn't. But if there's someone behind all this, they're obviously outside school grounds. That means there is a way out of here, but its yet to be found." The survivor said.

All three of them sighed, thinking the same thing.

"So, what does this thing do?" Tenko pointed to the odd machine with Monokuma's head.

"Judging by the way it looks, probably to make more Monokumas." The detective insepected it.

"Couldn't it just be a camera or a friend to talk to?"

"No, the microphones and screens are all here." He pointed to the control corner.

"So, there was no way to destroy that annoying degenerate?" her annoyed voice said.

"No, and I doubt even now, if there's someone else behind it. I doubt the game could go on properly without Monokuma."

"Great. There's no way to win against him."

"Maybe but that doesn't mean we'll give up. Let's just continue on with our plan and see how everything goes." Rantaro suggested.

"Alright. Well let's catch up later. Also, let's venture off in different directions from here to avoid suspicion." Shuichi said.

"Ok, see ya later!" Tenko waved and left.

"I'll look forward to more of your detective work, Shuichi." Rantaro winked and walked off.

Shuichi blushed.

"Geez, I'm not that special." And with that, the library room was empty.


	23. Chapter 23

The next day Shuichi woke up with a knock on his door.

"Hey Shuichi! Angie told me and Tenko to gather everyone at the dining hall."

"Uh, okay." Shuichi thought it was odd for her to call everyone over. She was usually in her own universe.

When he arrived, almost everyone was there already. But they were all focused on the table.

"What's everyone looking at?" he asked.

Kaito just nodded him over, seemingly anxious about something. He walked over and saw a few keys and another Flashback light on the table.

"Should we use it?" Tenko asked.

"We've been using em already, the hell we gotta lose?" Miu crossed her arms.

"Not your virginity, that's for sure." Kokichi blurted out.

"W-wha t-that's..." Miu stuttered while sweating.

"And we can choose whether or not to believe it depending on how this all plays out." Rantaro said

"Hi Hi! Did you all get a good night's rest?" Angie walked in, distracting them from the objects.

"I always make sure a good sleep is part of my daily routine!" Tenko answered proudly.

"So, why'd you gather us here?" Kibo asked.

"Atua wants to help ease all our tensions!"

"Huh?" Miu asked in an annoyed voice.

"I have created the Ultimate Academy Student Council!"

"The hell is that?" The inventor pressed.

"Oooo is it an evil organization?!" Kokichi's eyes sparkled.

"No one's gonna stoop that low!" Kaito shushed him.

"I know times are hard and our hearts are heavy, but Atua's divine words shall guide us all in the right path!" Angie said.

"Um, what?" Kaito scratched his head.

"Will Atua keep us safe?" a low voice muttered.

"Himiko?" Tenko looked at her surprised.

Angie went up to her and hugged her. "Don't worry little one, Atua's words are true. He shall help you overcome your fears."

"Wh-whaa…?!" Tenko's face turned red.

"Gonta wanna join too! Gonta been feeling scared… like can't protect friends… But Angie counseling maybe help."

"Think a robot can get counseling too? I wanna learn firsthand how the human mind can change after counseling sessions!" Kibo added.

"Whys a hunk of metal tryna learn about us?" Kokichi shrugged.

"Hey that's robophobic!"

"I-I'll join!" Tenko quickly raised her hand. "Clearing my mind can be part of my daily training!"

"So will I. This sounds interesting. Plus, I'm totally traumatized by our previous experiences." Rantaro smiled nervously.

"Rantaro?!" Shuichi said.

C'mon, Shuichi. Wouldn't you want some therapy after what we endured?"

"Uh…."

"Perfect! You are all welcome! Atua will be very happy! Come, come follow me to my lab!" She took a key and the Flashback light with her.

"Hey hey where you goin with that?" Kaito shouted.

"Yeah we wanna know what the fuck happened in our past!" Miu argued.

"Oh, you won't be needing this! Just relax and pray, for now! Maybe when you're ready, I can show you all!" She smiled innocently.

"Who are you to decide that?" Kaito urged.

"It's Atua's decision. His words are final!" She said and walked off with her new followers.

"Oh we are divided once more! This just gets more interesting! I'm gonna take note of this!" Kokichi cheered and ran off.

The remaining students stood there, silently.

"Did we just witness a cult?" Kaito brought up.

"Dunno. I just know there is no God looking after us in this cruel world." Ryouma cooled.

Shuichi looked down. He was never religious, but he was concerned for his friends.

"Ugh I was gonna use Kibo for my experiments." Miu said before walking out.

"Well there's another key here. Maybe we can go exploring. Hopefully it'll lead us to another clue." Shuichi nodded towards the second key.

"Wait where's Maki?" Kaito interrupted.

"Oh right, we were so distracted we didn't notice she wasn't here." Shuichi noticed.

"I doubt she'll partake in any activities from now on. Can't say I blame her." Ryouma said.

"She can't stay cooped up in her room! C'mon let's go say hi!" Kaito put his arm around Shuichi's shoulders.

"What are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It can't hurt to try! Besides she knows we're on our side!"

"Well…"

"You come too, Ryouma!"

"Pardon?" The ex-con looked up.

"Yeah c'mon man you're one of us now!" the astronaut gave a thumbs up.

Shuichi shrugged and smiled reassuringly.

Ryouma sighed and followed them.

* * *

 

Upstairs, the Ultimate Student Council group were in a dark hallway in front of a white door.

"This place is creepy…" Himiko muttered.

"There's nothing to fear Himiko! We just gotta believe in Atua!" Tenko said.

"That's the spirit!" Angie nodded in approval.

"Hey guys there's a locked door on the other side of the hall. Looked kinda creepy though." Kibo walked back to the group.

"Why is door locked?" Gonta asked.

"Glad you asked!" Monokuma said.

"Nyeh! Stop that!" Himeko pouted.

"Degenerate bear! How dare you!" Tenko stood in a fighting stance.

"Hey just saying when one of you wusses die, the doors to their lab are forever locked! No point in going back into a dead man's room, eh?"

"I wouldn't have wanted to go into that creep's lab anyway." Tenko shuddered.

"Yeah I don't think any of us would…" Kibo agreed.

"Thanks for your help Monokuma. Now if you'll excuse us!" Angie opened the door and a strong smell hit everyone.

"Ugh," Tenko said.

Inside there was paint cans, white canvases, paintbrushes and other various art tools.

"Why do the sessions have to be in here? It's an art room." Kibo asked.

"Ah, but art is more than just pretty colors. It captures the beauty of the world Atua Himself has created. It's our job to show his grace to all." Angie smiled.

"Atua create bugs too, so Atua must like bugs, right?" the fascinated bug lover asked.

"Correct!"

"So tell us more about Atua, then Angie." Rantaro asked before sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Yes that will be our first lesson! Let's all sit in a circle, now!" Angie said and they all complied.

* * *

 

Maki angrily opened her door after some persistent doorbell rings.

"What?" She asked, opening the door. She saw the beaming astronaut and detective smiling shyly. She raised an eyebrow at Ryouma's presence.

"Yo! You weren't at the dining hall earlier." The tall man waved.

"Any reason why I should've?"

"You missed some weird shenanigans back there." Shuichi chuckled.

"That's exactly why I didn't go. Are we done here?"

"At least have some breakfast." Ryouma said.

"What?"

"Here, we bought you some." Shuichi held out a chocolate croissant and a juice box.

Her mouth twitched slightly but kept her stoicism.

"Why'd you bring me this?"

"We all gotta eat. You can't refrain from eating cuz you're scared of being disliked by everyone." Ryouma pointed out.

"What the hell would you know?" She growled.

"Oh, I know perfectly well. By now I just accept everything and carry on." He responded firmly.

She lowered her eyebrows remembering their similar backgrounds. She hesitantly took the food and went back into her room.

"Hey- "Kaito blurted, but Shuichi held his arm.

"It's alright, Kaito. I think we got through to her. Thanks, Ryouma."

"I was just telling her the truth. No need to thank me."

Kaito and Shuichi exchanged smiles.


	24. Chapter 24

"Hey, want to check out the other lab?" Shuichi asked.

"Huh?" Kaito asked.

"There were two keys on the dining table. Angie took one for her lab so let's find where the other one goes."

"Oh right, yeah might as well see what else this place has to offer." Kaito said.

"I've learned to make the best out of prison." Ryouma reminisced.

"Man, you're such a buzzkill."

* * *

After retrieving the last key and exploring for a while, they finally found the entrance outside.

"Woah this place is huge!" Kaito gawked up at it.

"What could possibly be in here?" Shuichi wondered.

"Won't know till we find out." Ryouma said and opened the door.

Inside was a large fighting dojo with platforms hung by chains to the ceiling. Some automated moving dummies were aligned in opposite rows for assumed practice.

Shuichi chuckled. "Guys I think I know who-"

"DEGENERATE MALES!"

"Gyaahhhh!" Shuichi screamed as he was flipped over.

"Tenko!" Kaito shouted.

"Fitting entrance for the lab owner." The tennis player shook his head.

"Ow…what the hell Tenko?" Shuichi rubbed his back.

"Seeing degenerates come into my lab without permission!" She stood her fighting stance.

"Geez we just wanted to know where the other key led to. Didn't know it'd be yours." Kaito sighed.

"Typical males. Never think before your actions." She smirked.

"So, you're planning to train here, from now on?" Ryouma looked around.

"Correct! Those dummies are way better to spar with than just doing some moves outside every morning."

"Yeah and maybe my back will start feeling better." Shuichi snarked.

"Hey, let's do our nightly training here instead!" She suggested.

"What?!" Kaito and Shuichi blurted.

"Yeah this will really amp up your workout routine! Better than those measly pushups and sit-ups."

"Great…" they said, knowing perfectly well what they'd be in for.

"Your motivation is admirable." The tennis player closed his eyes.

"Yeah! Gotta practice daily if you don't wanna get rusty." She pumped her arm.

He sighed. "Yeah, true."

"Hey, uh Tenko. How did Angie's counseling go?" Shuichi suddenly remembered.

"Oh, she just talked about how His words are absolute and some weird traditions at her homeland."

"I see." He decided not to push it any further due to the presence of the other two.

"Alright Tenko, see you tonight." Kaito waved. Before both could leave, they felt their collars being grabbed.

"What the-?!"

"Whoa!"

"Oh no you don't, since you degenerates decided to break in here you might as well stay and train!"

"Uh…" they exchanged glances.

"Ryouma help!" Shuichi called out.

"Sorry. I have somewhere I need to be. You guys have fun." The short man said and left.

"Aw that's too bad. Oh well let's begin!" The girl smiled.

Shuichi sighed, knowing what he and Kaito would be in for.

* * *

After a long and painful workout, Shuichi flopped on his bed. He couldn't help but be concerned about what Angie was doing, not to mention Tenko and Rantaro joining them. Though, from his deductions he noticed Tenko's hesitation. She probably only asked to join to look after Himiko. Though Rantaro seemed to be acting suspicious, he never took him for the religious type. And after their meetup at the library, he's certain it was an act as well.

They were probably all going to report to each other anyway, though Shuichi found it odd that Rantaro would also trust Tenko. The girl was harmless, but he'd think the Ultimate Survivor would be suspicious of everyone. It was likely because Shuichi trusted her, and Rantaro trusted Shuichi. Still, he couldn't fully grasp his relationship with the green haired male. By this point they were on good terms. But Rantaro constantly surprised the detective. Their relationship seemed to be on a basis of mutual intrigue, the desire for trust, but knowing that full trust wasn't safe in their predicament.

"If only we all met some other way." Shuichi closed his eyes.

Before dozing off, he suddenly had an idea.

He was going to talk to Angie alone.

* * *

Kokichi looked around, then called out.

"What is it?" Monokuma said in an annoyed tone.

"Hey Monokuma, I wanna ask about the rules. Is there one against requests?"

"Requests? For what?" the bear tilted his head.

"I think you know." He grinned.

* * *

Ryouma swung the tennis racket, throwing another ball over the net. It was around his 30th try.

"Train every day, huh." He muttered.

"I thought I'd find you here." A voice said.

Ryouma turned to see Kaito.

"You look terrible." He said and threw another ball.

"Man, Tenko is rough. Apparently, she thinks that legs can bend backwards." The astronaut groaned.

The shorter man chuckled.

"How'd you know I was here?" He asked.

"Shuichi noticed you seemed interested in Tenko's words about training every day. I know you quit tennis, but we had fun when you were showing me and Shuichi some moves when your lab opened up."

Ryouma hit a few more tennis balls before answering.

"I wondered why you all even tried, when I gave up so long ago. At first, I thought you were all just naïve children who didn't know reality. After the first trial, I saw that you all still had hope. And I realized, maybe I'm the naïve child."

Kaito stood there, not knowing how to respond.

"Hey, can I join you?"

Ryouma looked at him and smiled.

"Sure."


	25. Chapter 25

"And that is all for today! You may go now, may Atua be with you all." Angie clasped her hands together.

Everyone got up and started leaving. Tenko stretched after sitting crossed legged for an hour.

Himiko yawned. Tenko blushed at the small girl's cute behavior.

"Hey, Himiko wanna get something to eat?" she said as she went over to her.

"Huh? Oh no it's okay, I'm gonna stay here with Angie."

"W-what? Um, but class is over!"

"She wants to stay for more private lessons. She has become a very modeled student here. She did all her prayers and requests of Atua." She patted Himiko's head.

"T-then, can I stay too?" the martial artists persisted.

"If you want private lessons, it'll be strictly one on one, just the student and myself. And Atua of course."

"I see. Have fun, Himiko." She said sadly.

Himiko barely noticed.

"Well, at least my lab opened up! Time to go train in my new dojo!" the happy thought occurred as she walked out.

Tenko was on her way back when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, surprised to see Gonta looking a bit nervous.

"Gonta? What's up?"

"Uh, I see Tenko lab open!"

"Yup! I'm gonna go train there everyday now!"

"Can uh, Gonta come with you?"

Tenko blinked. "Why? You're already really strong as it is."

"But you say Neo Aikido is for protect and inner strength… Gonta also want to protect friends and be brain strong!"

She tilted her head and giggled.

"Haha, alright. Even though you're a degenerate male, your heart seems to be in the right place. Alright, c'mon ya big bug lover." She beckoned.

"Okay!" Gonta beamed and followed eagerly.

When they were in the dojo, she handed him a large white uniform.

"What this?" he asked, turning it over.

"Your uniform! If you wanna learn about Aikido, you gotta be dressed properly for it."

"Ok! Gonta understand!"

After changing in the corner, Gonta came out in his uniform.

"Alright first thing is first, let's sit down. We're gonna clear our minds first."

Gonta obediently sat crossed leg with his arms resting on his knees.

"Um, how to clear mind? What do Gonta have to think about?"

"Relax and focus on your breathing. Think of something that makes you happy, like cute girls!"

"Cute…girls?" The innocent man tilted his head.

"Oh, well that's what makes me happy. Hmm, oh I know! Think about bugs!"

"Oh yes! Bugs makes Gonta very happy! Gonta can relax now!" he happily closed his eyes.

Tenko smiled and did the same.

After a few minutes, she spoke up.

"Alright, now that our minds are clear, lets focus on a drive."

"But Gonta don't know how to use car,"

"Not that kind of driving, I mean like a motive. A reason for you to learn aikido. Mine would be protect girls and beat up degenerate males!"

"Um, well Gonta no wanna beat up males…but Gonta wanna be protector of friends!"

"Right, so use that as your motive. Let's start with the basic moves!"

"Alright!"

* * *

Kiibo knocked on the door. A groan was heard from behind the door.

"What do you-oh Kiibo." Miu's expression changed from irritated to aroused.

"You wanted me to stop by, right?"

"Yep! I haven't gotten the chance to examine your body!" she drooled.

"Sure thing! I think you'll find my functions useful to your studies!" The oblivious robot said.

"Yes, yes come in!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her lab.

"By the way, you alright, Miu? You haven't been around the rest of us lately."

"Oh. I've just been working on some inventions. I don't wanna get involved at the risk of being killed." She waved her hand.

"That explains why you're a mess." He chuckled.

He was right. Her blonde hair was sticking out in all directions with some ink splattered on it and her clothes. Her outfit was shuffled like she hasn't changed in a while.

"I like this look on me. It makes all the boys look like I had a _really_  good time."

"Um, anyway some of us aren't that bad, Miu. You should come talk to us."

"Yeah quit yapping and lie down on the table."

He did and was overwhelmed when the busty girl practically jumped on top of him and fondled his metal body all over.

"Gyagh! Miu what the hell are you doing?"

"Woooooww your body feels so gooood! I've never felt anything so smooth and warm!"

"Ah, Miu I don't think this is how you'd examine technology!"

"Oh no, you haven't been updating, have you?"

"Yeah with all that's happening I haven't thought of-AHH!"

"So that what happens when I touch this function over here? Mmmm, don't worry I'll give you a _good_  performance, so just sit back and relax. Let me do  _aallll_  the work."

"Right, thank you." Kiibo said.

* * *

Shuichi was a bit nervous, but he knew he had to do this. He was standing outside Angie's lab. He figured everyone would be finished with their session by now, since he needed to talk to her alone. He straightened himself out and knocked. His hand barely touched the door when it swung open. He was surprised to see a little magician come out along with the artist.

"Shuichi! What a pleasant surprise!" Angie said.

"Oh hey." Himiko followed uninterested.

"Thank you again, Himiko. Remember to keep Atua in your heart."

"Yep! I'll eat enough so I can be a sacrifice soon!" She pumped her arms up.

"Sacrifice?!" the detective blurted out.

"Perfect! Let's weigh you every time you come here! Byeonara!" Angie said, not noticing Shuichi's reaction.

"Later!" the magician waved.

Shuichi watched her leave, dumbfounded by what he just heard. How far was Angie willing to go to get everyone to convert?

"Shuichi!"

"What?" her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"What can I help you with? Oh, are you here for a private lesson?"

"Huh? Is that what Himiko was doing?"

"Correct! My Ultimate Student Council is every morning for all to join! But If you like, you can learn more about yourself and Atua with a one on one private session with me! Including Him, of course."

Shuichi thought for a moment. Angie didn't seem to be the type to understand if he were to ask directly. He decided it was best to play along with her eccentric behavior.

"Ah yes. See as a detective, I have seen many horrible sins. I've solved many cases, but it doesn't rid the blackness in my heart. I want to ask Atua to cleanse my soul." He said in a dramatic tone.

"Oh no no no! This is a really bad, bad case! But don't worry my friend, Atua will look into your heart! There's still hope for you! Come in come in!" she grabbed his hand and shut the door.

"Now, let's sit down and have a prayer."

"Yes of course." He said. They sat across each other and held hands.

"Atua is a divine, all powerful being. Trust in him and he will give you his unconditional love."

"Um, Dear Atua. Please cleanse my soul the impurities." Shuichi prayed aloud.

"Ah, I feel His grace coming upon you, Shuichi. You might become an avid follower."

After sitting silently for a few minutes, Angie opened her eyes.

"Alright Shuichi, you have begun the path that is His word."

"Hey Angie, who exactly is Atua? I mean I wanna know who my all mighty Lord and Savior is."

"A very reasonable question, Shuichi. What is wonderful about Atua can be whatever your heart perceives him to be! For Gonta, he is a loving Grandmother. For Himiko, he is a handsome man."

"Poor Tenko…." Shuichi chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Then Atua is my, uh Mother! I see a kind and nurturing woman." He smiled warmly.

"Perfect! Then that's who he'll be for us."

"Um, what about you, Angie?"

She sat still for a moment.

"Atua has no one true face. For me he can be everyone and anyone." She finally said.

"I see," he nodded.

"So how is it Shuichi? Do you feel cleansed, now?"

"Yes! I feel reborn. Thank you so much, Angie. And Atua of course."

"Anytime, Shuichi. He is happy to take in any new followers."

He wanted to ask another question but didn't want her to get suspicious.

"So, uh, I'll see you tomorrow for another private session?"

"Yep! Remember to do your prayers!" she waved.

Shuichi walked out of their relieved, realizing what he had to do. He decided to take his experience working in his detective Uncle's office into account. If he wanted information, he had to gain trust first. It was best to play along for now.

He sighed and walked back to his dorm.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think of Shuichi's acting skills? xD


End file.
